


You're In Supernatural

by apolloenjolras



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Eventual Dean/Reader relationship, F/M, Hunter!Reader, ReWritten episodes, Reader-Insert, Season 1, You are in supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:53:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7663939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolloenjolras/pseuds/apolloenjolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How did you meet the Winchesters? It all started with that god damned scarecrow.<br/>Okay, so maybe "god damned" wasn't the best choice of words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Scarecrow

_The door to the interrogation room opens. Keeping your eyes trained on the desk, you hear footsteps approach you. You smell the sweetness of a cup of coffee, and you silently wonder whether your police record has been altered to include “Caffeine Addict”. Surely that won’t be the worst thing on there. You look up, recognizing the blonde police woman from earlier. She has a motherly look on her face, and offers you the coffee. If she’s trying to pull the good cop routine on you, it won’t work._

_“I thought you might like some coffee.” She says, putting the cup in front of you. You grab it, and take a sip. The ratio of cream to sugar is exactly perfect. She definitely has your favorite on record. Or maybe she just found your coffee cup from earlier back at the motel. Whatever it is, you sip silently, focussing intently on the cup. After a few moments you speak._

_“Why are you keeping me here?”_

_“Well, you and your friends are in a lot of trouble.”_

_“What kind of trouble?”_

_“Well your friend “Dean” is being held on suspicion of murder-”_

_“Murder?!”_

_“You sound genuinely surprised.”_

_“I am. Who was he suppose to have murdered? And how?”_

_“We’ll get to that. But first, I want to talk about you.” She says, holding up a file, which you know means trouble._

_“(Y/n) (l/n). You’re twenty four years old, no job, no home address. Your mother’s been missing for fifteen years, your brother's been dead for eight. And then there’s the issue of your friends, Dean and Sam. We ran Dean’s prints through AFIS, and got a dozen possible hits. Then there’s the fact he tortured all those young women in St. Louis, and faked his own death. We’re still running Sam, but if his record is anything nearly as interesting as Dean’s....” She trails off. Then looks back at your file._

_“Your record isn’t too bad. A few cases of breaking and entering, minor theft, and desecrating graves. But nothing too bad, nothing you couldn’t bounce back from.” She looks you directly in the eyes._

_“(Y/n), with your cooperation, we can fill in the missing pieces of this murder. Work with us, and I can talk to the DA, and we can make a deal for you. You can get on with your life. Dean is as good as done. Don’t let him ruin you.”_

_You think for a moment, before quietly whispering “What do you want to know?”_

_~_

_“Let’s start easy. How did you meet the Winchesters?”_

How did you meet the Winchesters? It all started with that god damned scarecrow.

Okay, so maybe "god damned" wasn't the best choice of words.

_“I was travelling. My brother died when I was 17, which you know.”You say, gesturing to the file she holds in front of her._

Your mother and brother were both hunters and you followed in their footsteps, taking up the family business of hunting the paranormal and saving the innocent where no one else was able to.

_“I never really got over it. So I figured, hey, what’s better then a long road trip.”_

You didn’t like to think about your brother. Or the way he died. It made you all emotional. It wasn’t good for cases.

You were on a new case at the time, and this one was personal. Your cousin, Holly had gone missing, along with her husband, about a year ago. You weren’t overly close with Holly, but it did seem unlike her to just drop off the grid altogether, so in between cases you researched. And researched. After a heck of a lot more research, hours of it, you found that three different couples had disappeared. All the couples were from different towns, taking different road trips. The one thing they had in common was that none arrived at their destination. And each of them went through the same route of Indiana, always on the second week of April. If that didn't sound paranormal to you, you didn't know what did.

_“At one point, I went through a string of small towns in Indiana.”_

The drive to Indiana was long. With only yourself for company, you listened to your music, and pulled over to get a few hours of shut eye here and there. Finally reaching the route, you stopped at several small towns to ask about the missing couple, Holly and Vince Parker.

~

Walking into a small café called "Scotty's", you readied your missing person flyers. A man sat at the cash register, and looked up at you as the bell on the door chimed.  
"Are you Scotty?"  
"Yep."  
"Hi, my name is (Y/n) (l/n). My cousin Holly and her husband Vince went missing around here. It was about a year ago. I was wondering if you had seen them?" You said, passing the flyer to him.  
"I haven't seen them. But it's strange..."  
"What's strange?"  
"Some young man, claiming to be John Boneham came in about an hour ago asking about these two. And you said they went missing a year ago?"  
"Yes. Um, could you describe that young man to me?"  
You wrote “ _Male, Caucasian, mid 20's, brown hair, approx. 6'1_ ” on the back of the missing person flyer. You added _"John Boneham"_ above it too.  
"He'll be hard to miss. We don't get lots of strangers in our town."  
You thanked him for his time and left, heading to the next shop. You hoped that you could catch up with “John” at some point. He might have an idea of what had happened to the couples.

You got the same response at the next stop, and the one after that. They hadn't seen the couple, but some young man had just been asking about them. Walking into a shop called Jorgeson General Store you braced yourself for the same answer.

The young helper there, named Emily, told you she remembered the couple.

“They were just married. Stopped in for about ten minutes to get some gas. The guy had a really neat tattoo. Do you know the guy that was just in here? He was asking about them too.”

“So I’ve heard. Can you tell me which way they went after they left?” She pointed you down Orchard road.

Your mother was a skilled medium, and you wished that her skills had been passed on to you. That woman could detect a spirit from 50 yards away and tell you exactly what it was and how to kill it. It was a shame that you inherited zero of her abilities. You relied on the old EMF meter, just like any other hunter playing Ghostbusters. When it started going off like crazy in your car, you slowed down.

Walking around, everything seemed pretty normal. That was, until you saw the scarecrow. Alarms went off in your head.  You noticed a ladder had been pulled right next to it. You decided to climb up it and check out the scarecrow.  
It may have been the freakiest thing you'd ever seen. And you'd seen a lot of seriously freaky stuff.

  
You looked closely at the arm that’s holding a sickle. There was a design on it. You pulled out your missing person flyers. The designs were the same.

Pulling out your phone, you searched up “scarecrows that come to life and kill people.” Obviously not the right search, you just spent $7 on a list of horror movies.

~

_“I met Dean Winchester in a small Cafe. He immediately caught my attention.”_

Going back to Scotty’s you decided it had been too long since you last ate, maybe since breakfast? You also figured that Scotty might be a little more open to telling you the town’s history if you were a paying customer.

Getting out of your car, the first thing you noticed through the window was a new couple in town. _This isn’t good_ , you thought to yourself. _These people are definitely in danger_. The second thing you noticed was a young man matching the description of “John” you’d been given. You recognized Scotty from earlier, who was standing next to a man in uniform. There seemed to be some sort of confrontation. After a few words were exchanged between the sheriff and “John”, the sheriff put his arm on “John’s” back.  He stared intently at the ground as the sheriff led him out of the cafe, passed you. As they walked by, the sheriff gave you a little mutter under his breath, sounding vaguely like a hello. “John” glanced up at you, and your eyes met.

  
He had incredibly green eyes. They were filled with fear, as if he _knew_ what horrible fate awaited this couple. You smiled at him, as if to say “I’ll protect them, don’t worry.” He gave a quick smile back, and was led on by the sheriff. Scotty and the couple were in the middle of talking as you entered.

  
“I’m sorry about that.” Scotty said to the couple.

  
“It’s fine. Thank you again for being so hospitable towards us.”

  
“I’m sorry, but what just happened?” You asked.

“That man that came into our town was being a bother. But the sheriff is going to escort him out of here, so don’t worry about it. Now, are you back for another interrogation session, or are you going to order something?” He said with a laugh. You laughed too.

The food was good, or at least better than you expected. You’d  gotten use to eating in little dives across the country.

As the couple went to leave, you called out “Have a safe trip.” Although, you doubted it would be.

~

 Back in your truck, you glanced through your search history. “creepy scarecrows that come to life and kill people”, “scarecrows that take bones?”, “scarecrows that are evil?”, and last but not least “Indiana scarecrows” (that one yielded the worst results of them all). So far nothing. You wanted to protect this couple, but in order to do that you needed to know what you were going up against. You grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. When in doubt, write down what you know and work from there? Fact 1: _There is a scarecrow that has the arm of one of the missing people inside of it._   Fact 2: _The cycles occur annually, always on the second week of April._ Fact 3: _The victims are always a couple, one male and one female._ Thinking about these facts lead you to believe that this wasn’t just some demon you were dealing with. You weren’t sure exactly what it is, but you’d figure it out. You always did.

~

You followed the young couple. It wasn’t the first time you had followed someone, and it defiantly wouldn’t be the last. You drove a safe distance behind them, enough that they (hopefully) won’t notice you were following them, but close enough that you could see them. Why didn’t it surprise you when the car stopped right in front of the orchard?

Reaching for the gun in your passenger seat, you got out to follow them.

You faintly heard the couple talking, and followed them as they walked towards the clearing.

“Steve?” You heard the woman call out. You walked towards her, causing her to panic.

“Hey, hey, it’s me. From the cafe earlier. You guys are in danger. We need to get you back to your car-” you started to say, interrupted by the rustling of leaves near you. The couple obviously heard it too.

“Who’s there?” The man-Steve- called out. A figure immerged from the trees and as it came closer you could tell that it defiantly was the scarecrow for earlier. You pulled out your gun, and fired a shot, which hit the scarecrow. It continued walking, seemingly unaffected by your bullets.

The couple began running towards their car. You followed close behind, preparing to fire another shot.

 Just then, another figure joined you.

“Get back to your car! Go! Go!” You heard him yell. He fired the gun he was holding but, like your own shot, it didn’t stop the scarecrow. You both fired again. Nothing. The scarecrow continued to come towards you. The man shot his gun a third time, continuing to tell the couple to move. As you reached the couple’s car, you looked around. No scarecrow.

“What- what the hell was that?” Steve asked.

“Don’t ask.” The stranger replied. That was sort of what you were thinking.

“Just drive. And don’t stop.” You add. The couple is content to follow through on your orders.

The stranger turns to you. It’s clear he’s the man from earlier, the one fitting “John’s” description and the one who got kicked out of town. 

~

_“Dean and I didn’t hit it off right away. Our first conversation was actually a huge argument.”_

He was well built, and looked like he could probably kill a man. He continued to hold his gun defensively, as if you would attack him any second. The expression on his face let you know that this guy meant business.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I could ask you the same question.” You replied.

“Well, I asked first.”

“I’m (Y/n) (l/n). My cousin, Holly, and her husband, Vince, went missing here a year ago. I just wanted to find out what happened to them.” You replied truthfully.

“You have your answer. Now you need to leave and let me handle this.”

“What? No way.”

“You could get seriously hurt here. You could die.”

 “I know the risks.”

“Look. I’m here to make sure that thing does not kill anyone else. And it will make my job twenty times harder if I have to babysit some little girl that doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“I may not know what I’m doing here, but you don’t exactly look like you have everything figured out either. You don’t know me, or my capabilities. Now I’m going to kill that thing, regardless of what you say. If you’re really here to help, then you’re going to have to work with me or around me because I’m not going to budge.”

His face softened. Almost into a smirk, as if he thought your little outburst was funny.

_“We got over it pretty quickly though. It was an interesting way to start a new friendship.”_

 “This may sound crazy, but I think that some sort of sacrificial ritual is going on here. And that thing might be some sort of god.”  He said, watching for your reaction.

“That would make sense, given the facts. So, how do we kill it?”

“I’m not sure yet. But there’s a community college close to here. With a professor that I think can help us. I’m going there tomorrow, you can come. If you still want to get involved that is.”

“Give me the address; I’ll meet you there tomorrow.” He scribed on a piece of paper, and handed it to you. It had the address, and a phone number, you assume his, on it. You looked back up at him.

“You never told me who you are, by the way.”

“The name’s Dean.” He said, before getting into his car and driving away.

~

You didn’t sleep at all that night. As soon as it was light out you started driving.

You met Dean on the campus. He wasn’t hard to find, as the place was practically a ghost town.

 “Are you ready for answers?” He asked.

“Defiantly.”

~

 “It’s not every day that I get a research question on Pagan ideology.” The professor said.

“Yeah, well, call it a hobby of ours.”

“But you said you were interested in the local lore?”

“Yes.” You said as Dean made a sound of agreement.

 “I’m afraid Indiana isn’t really known for its Pagan worship.”

“Well, what if it was imported? You know, like the Pilgrams brought their religion over. Wasn’t a lot of this area settled by immigrants?”

“Well, Yeah.”

“Like that town near here, Burkitsville. Where are their ancestors from?”

“Uh, northen Europe, I believe, Scandinavia.”

“What can you tell us about those Pagan gods?”

“Well, there are hundreds of Norse gods and goddesses.”

“We’re looking for one that might live in an orchard.” 

~

The professor looked through his books. “Woods god, hm? Well, let’s see...” He began flipping through some pages in one of his books. Dean spoke up “Wait, wait, wait. What’s that one for?” He pointed to a picture of a scarecrow-looking creature.

“Oh, that’s not a woods god, perse.” The professor said. Dean read the page out loud.

“The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female. Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?”

“I suppose” The professor said, looking at the picture.

“This particular Vanir gets energy that’s sprung from the sacred tree?”

“Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic.”

“So to destroy the god, you would have to destroy the sacred tree?” You asked.

“Yeah, if the sacred tree was torched. Do you think it would kill the god?”

The professor looked at the two of you, and laughed. “These are just legends we’re discussing.”

“Yeah right.” You muttered under your breath, knowing full well that they were more than that.

“Oh, of course you’re right. Thank you very much.” Dean said, shaking the professors’ hand.

“Glad I could help.” He says, you shook  his hand as well.

Dean and you walked over to the classroom door. You felt empowered by your knowledge of what you were dealing with. Now you just had to torch the tree, and it would be-

You heard a thump, and looked over just in time to see Dean hit the floor. The sheriff and the professor shared a knowing look, and the sheriff proceeds to grab “John.” You decided going along willingly was the best of your limited options. You allowed the Sheriff to lead you out, as he dragged Dean with some help from the professor.

~

The sheriff led you into a cellar. You looked at Dean, who was still unconscious. He took quite the hit to the head there. Gently, you put a hand on his jaw, to find his pulse. He opened his eyes and grabbed your arm on reflex, pinning it behind your back.

“Whoa. Easy there tiger. It’s just me.”

Realising his mistake, he let go of your arm. “Sorry.”

He stood up, and glanced around. “Where are we?”

“A cellar of some kind.” He went to the cellar door, and shook it. It didn’t budge.

“Any luck?”

“Nope.” He said with heavy sigh.

“So, they’re going to sacrifice us to the Vanir.”

“It’s sort of looking like it.”

“At least we can destroy the scarecrow. We just need to destroy the sacred tree.”

“We have to find it first.”

“It’s probably in the orchard. By the scarecrow.”

“That’s probably our best bet.”

The door opened. “It’s time.” The shop owner’s wife said.

~

After a major fight and a few warning shots were fired, You and Dean were tied to two separate trees.

“How many people have you killed, Sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?”

“We don’t kill them.”

“No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?”

The sheriff turned away without another glance.

“I hope your apple pie is freakin’ worth it!” Dean called after them as they left. You looked at him.

“Do we have a plan yet?”

“I’m workin’ on it.” He said while continuing to struggle with the ties.

 “You know, this really isn’t the way I thought I’d go down.”

“Really?”

“What, you expected to be sacrificed to some Pagan Scarecrow god?” You asked, surprised by the casual way he referred to your situation.

“No, but I always assumed it would be something equally as strange.”

“So like vampires or werewolves?”

“Take your pick.” He said with a little, sarcastic laugh. He still struggled against the ties, even though you were sure it wasn’t doing any good.

_“The more we talked the more we connected.”_

There was silence between you. You considered telling him about your life, how you hunt the paranormal. About all your regrets, all your hopeless dreams and every little deep dark secret you kept held up inside of you. But you just couldn’t do it. It would make the situation seem even worse than it already was. Then suddenly, he’s speaking.

“God, I never should have let him go to California.”

“Who?’

“My brother, Sammy. He wanted to go to California and find our dad. I told him we needed to do what dad wanted, which was come here and solve this case. We got in this big argument, and he just walked out. If he was here right now, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But he has to do his own thing. It’s just too bad it leaves me by myself.”

You thought about his words for a minute. “Well, for what it’s worth, he gave up a pretty good partner.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, this has been pretty good. You know, aside from the fact that we’re tied up here with no plans, and are probably going to die.” He laughed at that.

“I think it’s big of you. To let your brother do what he needs to, even if it hurts you.”

He went back to struggling with the ties, and you continued to struggle against your own. 

 “Hey Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“If we can’t get free, I’m going to try and kick him in the face. See how he likes it.”

“Good plan.” He said with a sharp edge of sarcasm.

“You have a better one?”

“I’m working on it.” You looked over at him, still struggling with the ties. It was much darker now.

“Is he moving yet?” He asked. You twisted your head but couldn’t see the cross the Vanir hung on.

“I can’t see from here.” You said, twisting to try and get a better angle. Suddenly, a shadow appeared.

“Oh god.” You whispered. You suppressed your nerves, the voice inside your head that always screamed at you to give up. Instead, you prepared to kick him in the face. It was really the only option you had left. As it moved closer, Dean continued to struggle.

_“I met Sam shortly after. He was equally as interesting and we became friends fast.”_

Instead of the scarecrow, a tall man appeared at the edge of the trees. From what you could see, he had long, soft looking hair and a kind but concerned face. “Dean?” He whispered. You silently thanked the Lord God for freeing you.

“Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I’m so happy to see you. Come on.” Dean said, the man began untying his ropes. You figured this must be Sammy, the brother Dean mentioned earlier. “How’d you get here?”

“I, uh- I stole a car.”

Dean laughed, and came over to untie you. “That’s my boy! And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute.”

“What scarecrow?” He asked. The two exchanged a nervous look. You cursed under your breath.

~

The three of you ran through the orchard as fast as you could.

“Alright, now, this sacred tree you’re talking about-”Sammy said.

“It’s the source of its power.” Dean said, cutting him off.

“Let’s find it and burn it.”

“We don’t know what it looks like. It’ll be easier in the morning.” You said.

“She’s right. Let’s just shag ass before Leather Face catches up.” The three of you reached a clearing. You noticed the four elders, the ones who tied you up earlier, as well as a few other townspeople. You were circled.

“Let us go.” You said, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good, but you hoped to buy some time.

“We can’t-” The shopkeeper started, but was interrupted.

“Uncle Harley? Aunt Stacy?” It was the shopkeeper’s assistant- Emily- from earlier.

“What are you doing?” She asked with confusion in her voice.

“The town needs to be safe.”

“So you’re going to kill these people? Like you killed the others?”

“The good of the many outweighs the good of the one Sweetheart.” The woman- Stacy- said

Emily looked hurt and you felt bad for her. You honestly believed that she had no clue about any of this.

“It’ll be over quickly.” The man that ran the general store said. “You have to let him take you. You have to-” All of a sudden, there was a sickle in his stomach. The Vanir had stabbed him. His wife screamed. The Vanir grabbed her as well, and dragged them into the dark orchard. The remaining townsfolk fled, afraid of being the next victims.

“Come on, let’s go.” Either Sam or Dean said, you honestly couldn’t tell who it was. Regardless, you and Emily followed them.

~

 She slept in your car with you that night, although neither of you got any sleep. You met Sam and Dean early the next morning. They brought gasoline and a lighter with them. You also brought a can of gasoline, prepared to light the whole orchard on fire if that was what it took. Emily wasn’t sure exactly where the tree was, so the four of you searched the entire orchard. Eventually, you found a tree that was marked with Vince’s tattoo design. Working together, you and Sam poured all your gasoline on the tree. Dean picked up one of the long, fallen branches. He twirled it between his fingers before taking his lighter to it.

“Let me.” Emily said, taking the branch and tossing it at the tree, which quickly went up in flames.

“The whole town is going to die.” He said, looking at Emily.

“Good.”

~

You gave Emily a quick hug before she got into Dean and Sam’s car. She was going to get as far away from here as possible. After what happened the previous night, you really didn’t blame her.

“Thanks again for saving us Sam.” You said, with a smile.

“Anytime.” He said, with a kind smile back before getting into the car himself. You look at Dean.

“So I guess this is goodbye?” He said.

“I guess it is. Just do me a favour. Next time your brother runs off to California, call me up. I’ll be your partner.” You said, handing him a piece of paper with your phone number on it.

~

“Think she’s going to be alright?” Sam asked, watching Emily get on a bus to Boston.

“I hope so.”

“And the rest of the townspeople, they’ll just get away with it?

“Well, what’ll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough.”

“What about (y/n)?”

“What about her?”

“Did she give you her number?”

“Yep. Told me to call her up next time you run off.”

“Do you think she’s... like us?”

“You mean a hunter?”

Sam nodded.

“Well, she’s definitely something else. Now, can I drop you off somewhere?”

“No, I think you’re stuck with me.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“I didn’t. I still want to find dad. And you’re still a pain in the ass.” Dean nodded at that.

“But, Jess and Mom- they’re both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me. We’re all that’s left. So, if we’re all that’s left. So, if we’re gonna see this through, we’re going to do it together.”

“Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful.”

“You should be kissing my ass, you were dead meat dude.”

“Yeah, right. I had a plan, I’d have gotten out.”

“Right.” Sam said, with an eye roll.

~

_“When I said goodbye to them in Indiana, I thought I’d never see them again.” You said, looking up at her._

_“I was wrong.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my work, feel free to tell me!
> 
> For those of you wondering, the flashbacks take place in season 1 episode 11, while the interview that is currently happening takes place in season 2 episode 7.


	2. Faith

_“It had been a few weeks since I had seen them. Not like I was expecting to see them again, I didn’t even think about them..”_

It was embarrassing how often you thought about the two brothers.

_“I was staying with my friend, Jane. She lives in Nebraska.”_

 Jane was always on the lookout for new cases for you. It was kind of nice to have someone in your corner for a change. This time, the case was for her. The ghost of her husband’s first wife was trying to kill her, and her children. You were just glad she had called you when she did. The job was rough, but nothing too horrible.

“I heard about this guy a few towns over. Apparently, he can heal, like, terminal illnesses and stuff. I got the address if you’re interested.” Honestly, this didn’t sound like your kind of case but this was definitely something you wanted to see. Since there was absolutely nothing else on your radar, you decided to go.

~

“Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor.”

“I believe I said a specialist. Look, Dean, this guy’s supposed to be the real deal.”

“I can’t believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent.” Dean said, not at all trying to hide his disgust for the place.

“Reverend LeGrange is a great man.” A women walking by said.

“Yeah, that’s nice.” Dean said with an eyeroll. He couldn’t believe how desperate Sammy was acting. _Why not just let me die in peace?_ Dean thought, looking around. None of the women here were even hot.  They walked passed an angry man arguing with a cop.

 “I have a right to protest! This man is a fraud. And he’s milking all these people out of their hard-earned money.”

“Sir, this is a place of worship. Let’s go. Move it.” The officer said, guiding him away.

“I take it he’s not part of the flock.” Dean said.

“When people see something they can’t explain, there’s controversy.”

“I mean, come on, Sam. A faith healer?”

“Maybe it’s time to have a little faith, Dean.”

“You know what I’ve got faith in? Reality. Knowing what’s really going on.”

“How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see every day?”

“Exactly. We see them, and we know they’re real.”

“But if you know evil’s out there, how can you not believe good’s out there too?”

“Because I’ve seen what evil does to good people.”

“Maybe God works in mysterious ways.” A young woman said, joining the conversation.

Dean looked her up and down. Man, she was fine. “Maybe he does. I think you just turned me around on the subject.”

~

_“I ran into them again outside of a church.”You say. _

Waiting to get inside of the church, you couldn’t believe who you saw.

“Sam?” You hesitantly asked. The man turned around, and yes, it was him.

“(Y/n)?” He said, with a growing smile on his face.

“What brings you here all the way from Indiana?”

“Same thing as you apparently.” You said, gesturing to the make shift church.

“So, are you a believer?”

“More like a convincible skeptic. How about you?”

“I’m willing to try anything at this point.” You gave him a questioning look.

 “It’s Dean.” Sam said, looking very upset.

“Is he okay?”

“It’s just um, his heart. The doctors say there’s nothing they can do.” He said, emotion filling his eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” You said, reaching out and putting your hand on his shoulder. You knew how hard it was to lose a brother.

“(Y/n)?” You heard. You turned around to see Dean walking towards you. He had the same green eyes, fine jaw line, and attire but he looked like hell.

 “Dean...?” You asked.

“Yep. It’s me.”

“You look like crap.”

He made a fake offended face, but it was easy to tell that he felt as awful as he looked. Sam went over to him, and gently supported him as they moved into the tent.

~

 “Come on.” Sam said, put his arm around Dean, and moved him to the front. Dean had tried sneaking into the back row and Sam was having none of it.

“Don’t! What are you doing? Let’s sit here.” Dean said, struggling to sit in the back.

“We’re sitting up front.” Sam said firmly.

“What? Why?”

‘Come on.”

“Oh come on Sam.” Dean said, struggling against his brother.

“Are you alright?”

“This is ridiculous.” He slapped Sam’s hand away. “I’m good dude. Get off me.” Sam let go of Dean and led the two of you to the front.

“Perfect.” Sam said, looking at three empty chairs right near the front.

“Yeah, perfect.” Dean said sarcastically.

“You take the aisle.” Sam said to Dean, letting you enter the row first. You heard Dean mutter something nasty under his breath.

“Are the two of you always like this?” You asked as you moved in.

“Only when Sam’s being a little-”

“Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?” You turned your attention from Dean to the stage. The reverend- Roy LeGrange- had started to speak. You hoped it would be quick, as these seats were crazy uncomfortable.

“Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act.” The crowd murmured in agreement.

“But I say to you, God is watching. God rewards the good, and He punishes the corrupt. It is the Lord who does the healing here friends. The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people’s hearts.” The crowds murmuring had increased greatly.

 “Yeah, and into their wallets.” You heard Dean whisper to Sam

“You think so young man?” Roy said, turning to face Dean.

“Sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t be. Just watch what you say around a blind man, we’ve got really sharp ears.” The crowd laughed at that.

“What’s your name son?” Roy asked.

You heard the hesitation as Dean spoke his name.

“Dean. I want you to come up here with me.” He froze at that. The crowd was cheering, and the reverend and his wife looked excited.

“No, it’s okay.” Dean said, sticking to his seat.

“What are you doing?” Sam whispered to him.

“You’ve come here to be healed, haven’t cha?” Roy asked.

 “Well, yeah... but ahh....” Dean spoke hesitantly. The crowd made loud cheers, which seemed to be throwing him off even further.

“Maybe you should just pick someone else.” He said with a shrug. Sam looked at Dean like he was insane. 

“Oh no. I didn’t pick you Dean. The Lord did.”The crowd got more excited, as did you and Sam.

“Get up there!” Sam said.

“Yeah, come on, Dean!” You encouraged. Dean reluctantly rose, and headed to the stage. You filled up with excitement. Dean and Roy exchanged a few words, too quiet for you to here. You grabbed Sam’s hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

“Pray with me friends.” Roy shouted to the crowd. You followed the lead of the rest of the crowd by lifting up your hands, which were joined with your neighbours. Roy lifted his hands up to the air and placed one of them on Dean’s shoulder and the other on the side of his head. You held your breath, and silently prayed to whatever it was out there that this would actually work. Dean sunk to his knees, at which you felt Sam’s grip on your hand tighten. Roy continued to hold his hand to Dean’s head, muttering something to himself. Dean wobbled, and slipped to the stage floor.

“Dean!” Sam called out, letting go of your hand and running to his brother. You followed him. The crowd cheered with excitement. You had your hands on Dean, working with Sam to try and support him. Sam looked like he was going to lose it any minute. Dean’s eyes burst open, and he gasped.

“Say something!” Sam said. All Dean could do was look up.

~

“So, you really feel okay?” Sam asked for the millionth time.

“I feel fine, Sam.” Dean said rather curtly.

The doctor entered the room. “Well, according to all your tests there’s nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was. Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but, still it's strange it does happen.”

“What do you mean, strange?” Dean asked.

“Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack.”

“Thanks, doc.”

“No problem.” The doctor said, taking his leave. The two brothers turned to each other.

“That’s odd.” Dean said, the wheels in his head beginning to turn.

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence. People’s hearts give out all the time man.”

“No, they don’t.”

“Look, Dean, do we really have to look this one in the mouth? Why can’t we just be thankful the guy saved your life and move on?”

“Because I can’t shake this feeling, that’s why.”

“What feeling?”

“When I was healed, I just... I felt wrong. I felt cold. And for a second... I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I’m telling you, Sam, it was a spirit.”

“But if there was something there,  Dean, I think I would’ve seen it too. I mean, I’ve been seeing an awful lot of things lately.”

“Well, excuse me, psychic wonder. But you’re just gonna need a little faith on this one. Sam, I’ve been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this.”

“Yeah, alright.” Sam said with a sigh. “So, what do you wanna do?”

“I want you to go check out the heart attack guy. I’m going to go visit the reverend.”Dean said.

“Sorry I took so long. You wouldn’t believe the line they had at the washroom.” You said, stepping into the room. “Did the doctor come in yet?”

“Yes, he said everything check out perfectly. Dean is going to be fine.” Sam said with a smile.

~

_“We got along like last time, so we agreed to spend some more time together.”_

You sat in the back of the boy’s Chevy Impala. They were going to drop you back off at the church, where your car was. 

“Hey, (Y/n)? Could I get a ride with you once we get back to the church?” Sam asked.

“Sure thing, Sam. Where do you need a ride to?”

 “You don’t need a ride, you can take the car.” Dean interjected.

“I want you to have it, in case there’s an emergency.” Sam told Dean, and then he turned to you.  “Dean wants to go talk to the reverend again, about his healing. We found out that there was a guy who died of a heart attack earlier. I’m going to go offer condolences.”

“He died of a heart attack earlier? Like the same time Dean was healed? Man, that’s sketchy.”

“Which is exactly why you should just take the car Sam.” Dean insisted.

“It’s fine Dean. I’ve got nothing else to do, I don’t mind going with Sam.”

“I mind. (Y/n), you already got dragged into the Vanir issue; I don’t want you to get involved in this. It’s our problem.”

“Got dragged into? I think your memory is flawed.”

“(Y/n)-“

“Look, can we just put our cards out on the table here? I called up some friends after I left Indiana and I asked if they knew anything about a Sam or a Dean. You’re the Winchester brothers, John Winchester’s kids. And, well I’m a hunter, just like you. This whole healing the terminally ill has supernatural written all over it. So please let me help you guys.”

“Wait-” Sam started.

“You’re a hunter?” Dean asked, dumfounded.

“I have been my whole life.”

“No offense, but you don’t really look the part.”

“I know.” You said, looking down at your outfit. To be honest, you looked more like a teenage blogger than a hunter.

“And you researched us?” Sam asked.

“Isn’t that what hunters do? Find out about what they don’t know?”

“You said John Winchester’s kids. Do you know dad?”

“He worked a case with my brother once, but that was a long time ago.”

“So, you can talk to the reverend. (Y/n) and I, we can find out about the heart attack guy together.”

“Don’t worry Dean; I’ll take good care of your Sammy.”

“Only he gets to call me that.”

“Okay.” Dean said simply, and that was the end of it.

~

“I’m telling you, he seemed healthy. Swam every day, didn’t smoke. So, a heart attack just seemed, well, bizarre.” The pool employee said.

“And you said he was running, right before he collapsed.” Sam asked for clarification.

“Yeah, yeah, he was freaking out. He said that something was, uh, was after him.”

“Did he say what?”

 “Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn’t anything.”

“Alright, thanks.” You said, you and Sam went to leave when he nudged you. You followed his eyes and noticed a clock on the wall that wasn’t working.

“Hey, buddy? Your, uh, your clocks busted.” Sam pointed out.

“Oh, yeah, we, uh, can’t get it working. Just froze at 4:17.”

“Is that the same time Marshall died?” You asked.

“How’d you know?”

~

“That’s the exact time Dean was healed. He was right. I can’t believe he was right.” Sam said once you were back in your car.

 “I know.” You said with a sigh.

“Now we’re going to have to do some research. Find out who else has been healed, and who else has died.”

“Where are you staying?” Sam gave you directions to the motel him and his brother were staying at.

 “And I guess I’m coming with you?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Of course I want to.”

~

When Dean entered the room, Sam was on his laptop, and you were on yours. There were piles of paper surrounding you, as the two of you had worked together to find every piece of information relating to the case that you could. Sam had made you coffee, as well as a cup for Dean which sat there waiting.

“What’d you find out?” He asked Sam.

“I’m sorry.” Sam said quietly.

“Sorry about what?”

“Marshall Hall died at 4:17.”

“The exact time I was healed.”

“Yeah. So we put together a list of everyone Roy’s healed, six people over the past year, and we cross-checked them with the local obits.” Sam said, gesturing to the station you had set your laptops up at. “Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And every time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time.”

“So Someone’s healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?”Dean asked. You nodded.

“Somehow. LeGrange... he’s trading a life for another.” Sam explained.

“Wait, wait, wait. So, Marshall Hall died to save me?” Dean said, looking seriously disturbed by this information.

“Dean, the guy probably would’ve died anyway. And someone else would’ve been healed.”

“You never should’ve brought me here!”

“Dean, I was just trying to save your life.”

“Sam, some guy is dead now because of me.”

“Dean, you need to calm down. Sam didn’t know, okay? What’s done is done. The important thing is we need to stop this from happening again.” You said.

“The thing I don’t understand is how is Roy doing it? How’s he trading a life for a life?” Sam asked.

“Oh, he’s not doing it. Something else is doing it for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“The old man I saw on stage.”

“What old man?” You asked. You hadn’t seen anyone.

“I saw this old man after I was healed. I didn’t want to believe it, but deep down I knew...”

“You knew what?” You asked.

“Dean, what are you talking about?” Sam asked.

“There’s only one thing that can give and take life like that.” You and Sam looked at Dean, and each other, confused. “We’re dealing with a reaper.”

~

The three of you sat around the table, drinking the coffee Sam had prepared.

 “You really think it’s _the_ Grim Reaper? Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?” Sam asked Dean.

“No no no, not _the_ reaper, a reaper. There’s reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth, it goes by 100 different names, it’s possible that there’s more than one of them.”

“But you said you saw a dude in a suit.” Sam said.

“What, you think he shoulda been working the whole black robe thing?... You guys said that the clock stopped, right? Reapers stop time. And you can only see ‘em when they’re coming at you which is why I could see it and you couldn’t.”

“Maybe.” Sam said, still skeptical.

“I think Dean’s right, Sam. What else could it be?”

“The question is how is Roy controlling the damn thing?” Dean asked.

“That cross.” Sam said.

“What?”

“There was this cross, I noticed it in the church and I knew I had seen it before.” Sam said, and began shifting through a pile of papers. He held up a card for you and Dean to look at.

“A tarot card?” You asked skeptically.

“It makes sense. A tarot dates back to the early Christian ear right, when some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff? Necromancy and how to push death away, and how to cause it?”

“So Roy’s using black magic to bind the reaper?”

“If he is he’s riding the whirlwind. It’s like putting a dog leash on a great white.”

Dean rose, and headed to the sink to put his cup away. “Okay, then we stop Roy.”

“How?”

“You know how.”

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about Dean, we can’t kill Roy.”

“Sam’s right Dean, we can’t kill him.”

“The guys playing God, he’s deciding who lives and who dies. That’s a monster in my books.”

“No. We’re not going to kill a human being Dean. We do that and we’re no better than he is.”

“Okay, we can’t kill Roy, we can’t kill death. Any bright ideas collage boy?” Dean asked Sam.

“Okay. Uh... If Roy’s using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta... figure out what it is. And how to break it.”

~

The Impala bounced down the road by the church. Dean parked the car, and the three of you exited.

“If Roy’s using a spell, there might be a spell book.” Sam said.

“See if you guys can find it. Hurry up too, the service starts in fifteen minutes. I’ll try to stall Roy.” A man joined you.

 “Roy LeGrange is a fraud. He’s no healer.” He said, holding out a leaflet. Dean took it. “Amen brother.” He said.

“Keep up the good work.” Sam said. You just gave him a smile.

“Thank you.” He said, continuing to work the crowd.

~

You and Sam headed to the house next to the church. You watched as Roy came down the porch stairs, assisted by his wife Sue Ann, and a dark haired man. You and Sam waited until they left, and climbed into the house through the window. You searched one side of the room, he searched the other. You opened drawers, taking care to be quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Sam looked at the bookshelf, and pulled out the only book that wasn’t covered in dust. He flipped through it, before noticing a smaller book hidden behind it.

“(Y/n).” Sam said. You turned around to see him holding a small book.

“I think we have ourselves a spell book.” You said, looking at the picture of a skeleton reaper. On another page, there was a cross like the one on the tarot card. Flipping a few more pages, the two of you found newspaper articles about the people who had died. The one that died for Dean was an openly gay teacher; there was an article about a woman who was an abortion rights advocate. And there was a third clipping about the man who had just handed Dean a leaflet in front of the tent, David Wright.

“I’ll call Dean.” Sam said, whipping out his phone.

“Roy’s choosing victims he sees as immoral. And we think we know who’s next. Remember that protestor?” You heard the faint muttering of Dean on the other side of the line.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’ll find him. You can’t let Roy heal anyone, alright?” Sam said, and hung up a moment later. “We’ve got to find the protestor.”

~

You and Sam split up. You ran up and down the parking lot, looking for David Wright. You didn’t actually know what you were supposed to do once you found him though. Like Dean had said, you can’t stop a reaper.

 “Help!” You heard ring through the parking lot. You raced towards the voice.

“Help! Help me please!” You saw a man, definitely David Wright. He looked frantic, in a  mad panic. You reached him at the same time as Sam.

“Where is he!?” Sam asked, looking around wildly.

“Right there!” Wright said, pointing and turning Sam in the direction. Sam grabbed him and started pulling.

“Come on.” He said. The three of you ran away from the reaper.

Sam got a call, and answered it. You and Wright continued looking around.

“David, I think it’s okay.”

“Did Dean stop-”

“No!” David called out in terror, staring at an invisible threat in front of him.

“Dean it didn’t work. The reaper’s still coming!” Sam yelled into the phone.“I’m telling you it didn’t work! Roy must not be the one controlling this thing.” David fell to the ground; the life was being sucked out of him. You kneeled beside him, trying to do what little you could to help. He gasped for breath. Sam had hung up the phone, and moved to help David.

‘I got you. I got you.” He said, as the two of you lifted him up.

“Thank God.” He whispered.

~

 “So Roy really believes.” Sam said, sitting on his bed. You had gone back to the boy’s motel room to figure out what to do.

“I don’t think he has any idea what his wife’s doing.”

“Thank God we didn’t kill him then.” You said, earning an annoyed look from Dean.

“We found this.” Sam said, handing the little book from earlier to Dean.

“It was hidden in their library. It’s ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There’s a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper.”

“Must be a hell of a spell.”

“Yeah. You gotta build a black alter with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To corss a line like that, a preachers wife. Black magic. Murder. Evil.” Sam said.

“Desperate. Her husband was dying, she didn’t have anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy.” Dean explained.

“Cheating death literally.”

“Yeah but Roy’s alive, so why is she still using the spell?”

“To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral.”

“Isn’t that ironic?” You said with a little snort.

“May God save us from half the people who think they’re doing God’s work.” Dean added, looking frazzled.

“We’ve got to break that binding spell.”

Dean looked at the book. “You know Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this. When she dropped it the reaper backed off.”

“So you think we gotta find the cross or destroy the alter?”

“We should do both to be safe.” You said.

“Whatever we do we better do it soon, or he’s healing Layla tonight.”

~

 “That’s Layla’s car. She’s already here.” Sam said as Dean pulled into the church parking lot.

“Yeah.” Dean said with a nod. He looked sad, almost guilty.

“Dean...” Sam said, turning to face his brother.

“Do you guys need a minute?” You asked from the back. Sam nodded. You stood outside of the car.

~

“You know if Roy woulda picked Layla instead of me she’d be here right now. And if she’s not healed tonight she’s goinna die in a couple of months.” Dean said, looking as guilty as he felt. These hunts were never easy on him.

“What’s happening to her is horrible. But what are you gonna do? Let somebody else die to save her? You said it yourself Dean, you can’t save everybody.”

~

They exited the car only a minute later. You felt bad for Dean, who seemed to be weighed down by a serious amount of guilt. The three of you approached the tent, and looked inside. Roy was speaking to a small group of the faithful.

“Gather round, please everyone, gather round. Come in closer, come on up.” Roy spoke to the crowd.

“Where’s Sue Ann?” Dean asked.

“If she knows we’re after her she’s probably hiding away.” You said.

“Let’s go check out the house.” Sam said.

“Go find Sue Ann, I’ll catch up.”

“What are you gonna...?” Sam started but was interrupted by Dean’s yelling.

“Hey” Dean shouted at two cops passing by. “You gonna put that fear of God in me?” The cops dropped their coffee (what a waste) and took off after Dean. As soon as they were gone, you and Sam ran up to the house. It was dark, and you gave each other a confused glance. You noticed light coming from the cracks of the outside basement entrance. You nudged Sam, and the two of you went towards the cellar, opened the doors, and slipped inside.

~

The two of you moved as quietly as you could through the basement. You reached a candlelit alter littered with parts of dead animals, blood, horns, among other startling things. There was a photo in the middle of Dean, whose face was crossed out with a big, bloody X.

“I gave him life and I can take it away.” You heard from behind you. You and Sam turned around to face Sue Ann. Sam looked as mad as you felt. No way in hell was this lady killing Dean. Sam tipped over the table as you ran at Sue Ann. She was faster than you, and made it up the stairs. She closed the hatched and secured it with a beam. You started pounding against it, and Sam soon came and joined you.

“Can’t you see? The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother is wicked and he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It is God’s will.”

“Sounds more like your own will to me.”You said. This lady was playing with fire and you were going to make sure that she got burnt.

“Goodbye.” You heard faintly from outside. It sounded like she was leaving, probably to watch Layla be healed. You needed to find a way out of here.

“I bet we could use this block of wood to smash those windows.” You said to Sam.

“I was thinking the exact same thing.”He said, grabbing the block and smashing the window with ease.

~

Sue Ann was reciting outside the tent, holding up the cross. Sam grabbed the cross, and threw it to the ground causing it to shatter. Sue Ann fell to her knees, looking up at the two of you.

“My God, what have you done!”

“He’s not your God.” Sam said simply.

Sue Ann looked up, terrified. She turned to run but her eyes glazed over and she fell to her knees. She slipped to the ground. You left her lying there, and went looking for Dean.

~

Dean made it back to the Impala the same time as you.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked.

“It’s been one hell of a week.” He replied while shaking his head.

“Yeah... All right, come on. We should get going.”

“Preferably before you get arrested.” You said to Dean with a joking smile.

~

_“When I parted ways with them in Nebraska, I felt like we’d see each other again. I felt it in my bones.”_

The brothers drove you to the motel, where you had left your own car. You also left an assortment of your stuff in the brother’s room, your laptop, and a bag containing a few fake ID’s, snacks, and a journal. You went with them to go get your stuff. Sam helped you gather your things, while Dean sat on the bed, staring at nothing.

“What is it?” Sam asked, watching him.

“Nothing.” Dean said. You hardly knew Dean, but you knew this was not “nothing”. Sam waited a few seconds, before asking more gently

“What is it?”

“We did the right thing here, didn’t we?”

“Of course we did.” Sam said. Dean hung his head.

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

“Dean..” You began, sitting down next to him.

“I just-” He stopped when there was a knock on the door.

 “I got it.” Sam said.  He opened the door.

“Hey Layla. Come on in.” He greeted.

“Hey.” She said. Dean rose to his feet.

 “How did you know we were here?”

“Sam... called. He said you... wanted to say goodbye?” She asked questioningly. Dean glanced at Sam, who is standing at the door holding your laptop looking incredibly sheepish.

“I’m gonna walk (Y/n) to her car.” He said.

“Goodbye Dean. You did good.” You said, not really sure what to do. You decided to hug him, even though he looked a little uneasy at the contact. It was quick, but you hoped in conveyed something to him. You grabbed your stuff, and followed Sam into the hallway, closing the door behind you.

“What was that all about?”

“He feels guilty.”

“I can tell.”

“We can tell him it’s not his fault a million times, but he won’t believe it until he hears it from her.” Sam explained.

“He’ll be alright, won’t he?”

“It’ll take some time. Dean sort of likes to blame himself for everything.” Sam said, stopping when he reached your car. “So, where are you going next?”

“Honestly? I have no clue. How about you?”

“We don’t have anything yet either.”

“Well ,you take care of yourselves now, okay?” You said, pulling him into a hug.

“You too.”

“And call me. If you need anything.”

“We will.” You got in the driver’s seat and gave Sam a quick wave as you drove off.

Where to? Who knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my work, feel free to tell me!
> 
> For those of you wondering, the flashbacks take place in season 1 episode 12, while the interview that is currently happening takes place in season 2 episode 7.


	3. The Benders

_“I’m sorry, I’ve gotten a little off topic.” You said to the police woman, realising that you had gone on a tangent. For a second you almost forgot that you were in an interrogation room, not in the back of your old truck trying to figure out what to do with yourself._

_“It’s fine, really.” She said, actually looking like she was enjoying your story. Or maybe she was just enjoying having some cooperation. You’re sure Dean was giving her absolute hell._

_“So, Sam and I became friends after that. Or at least, we called each other up every once in a while.”_

You had called Sam up to ask him a question, and got lost in hours of conversation. He was sweet, funny, and very intelligent. Not just that, but he was always more than willing to help you if you needed it.

_“And at what point did you start traveling with the Winchester’s permanently?”_

_“It was the next time we met up.”_

You were sitting in a bar, downing a glass of who knows what. You had heard about a missing person case here, a man snatched up from a parking lot. You were in the neighbourhood for a salt and burn, and decided to check it out. _Why were there so many cases in Minnesota anyway?_ You thought to yourself as you went to the bar to get another glass of- well, whatever it was.

_“It was in a bar of all places. A little place in Minnesota.”_

“(Y/n)?” You heard.

“Sam?” You said with a huge grin, as you looked at the giant. He hadn’t changed one bit since you had last seen each other in Nebraska months ago. Wow, it had been months since you last saw him.

“Are you here about the missing person’s case?”

“I was in the neighbourhood, and thought I’d check it out. Didn’t think I’d be seeing you here.”

“We’ve been looking into this case too. It’s been sort of a bust though. We have our research here, if you wanna come look at it?” He asked. You grabbed your drink, and followed Sam to his table. Dean was nearby playing darts, and he smiled a little when he saw you.

“(Y/n)? What brings you here?”

“Same thing as you guys. Sam’s letting me look at your research.” You said to the older Winchester. While you would consider Sam a friend, you weren’t sure what to think of the older Winchester. The two of you had been through quite a bit together, almost being sacrifice to a Pagan God and all. He seemed like a good guy, but you got the distinct impression that he had some kind of issue with you.

“We were sort of thinking that this isn’t our type of thing after all.” Dean said. “It could just be a regular kidnapping.”

“But maybe you’ll see something that we missed.” Sam said, handing you some papers. You shifted through them. “Our dad marked this area as the possible hunting grounds of a phantom attacker. He found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night. Grabs people, then vanishes. He also found that this county has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state.”

“That is weird.” Dean said.

“Yeah.” You agreed, continuing to flip through the pages.

“Don’t phantom attackers usually snatch people from their beds? Jenkins was taken from a parking lot.” Dean pointed out.

“Well, there are all kinds.” Sam explained. “You know, Spring Heeled Jacks, Phantom Gassers. They take people anywhere, anytime. But I’m still not sure this is our type of gig.”

“Yeah, you’re right, we should ask around more tomorrow.”

“I saw a motel about five miles back.” Sam said to Dean.

“Whoa, whoa, easy. Let’s have another round.”

“We should get an early start.”

“Well, if you guys are on it, then maybe I’ll just leave it to you.” You said.

“You really did help us back in Nebraska. We wouldn’t mind having you tag along.” Sam said, speaking for the both of them. The look that Dean was giving you told you that he would mind.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll leave this one to the pros.” You said, with a little, sarcastic laugh.

“Alright, I’ll meet you outside. I gotta take a leak.” Dean said to Sam. “It was nice seeing you again.” He said to you.

“Likewise.” You said with a smile.  You helped Sam gather his research.

“I’ll call you soon.” Sam said, as he went out the door. You sipped at your drink, thinking over what had just happened.

~

_“And then Sam went missing that night. Do you have that in your police file?” You asked._

_“I do actually.” The policewoman said, flipping through a few pages to pull out his missing person form._

It wasn’t another ten minutes before Dean came up to you.

“You haven’t seen Sam, have you?”

“Not since he left. Why?”

“He’s missing. And I found this by the car.” He said, holding up a journal you recognized as Sam’s.

~

_“I told Dean I would help him find Sam. And that we’d do whatever it took to find him.”_

You went with Dean to the police station. He glanced over at you, staring out the window. You looked legitimately concerned for his brother’s well-being. It made him feel uneasy; no one cared about him and his brother. Not even their own father. So, why did you?

He saw that you were capable; you had proved yourself useful both times you had helped them out. And you had never given him a single reason not to trust you. You had a positive energy that radiated even at the worst of times. And Sam sure liked you. So what was the problem? It was that he was afraid of getting close. He remembered a few weeks ago when you had been talking on the phone with Sam.

“You can’t keep talking to her, Sammy. You know that you can’t afford to get close to anyone in this job.”

And now here he was, sitting with you in the police department, the words that he had told his brother rang through his mind. A deputy named Kathleen was looking at his fake ID, and had just finished inspecting yours. After she seems satisfied, she gave it back to him.

“So, what can we do for you, Officers?”

“We’re working a missing persons.”Dean replied.

“I didn’t know the Jenkins case was being covered by the state police.” She said thoughtfully.

“Oh, no. There’s someone else. Actually, it’s my cousin. We were havin’ a few last night at this bar down by the highway. And we haven’t seen him since.”

“Does your cousin have a drinking problem?” She asked Dean.

“Sam? Two beers and he’s doin’ karaoke.” Kathleen smiled at this. “No, he wasn’t drunk. He was taken.”  She nodded, and moved to go sit by her computer. You and Dean followed her.

“Alright. What’s his name?”

“Winchester. Sam Winchester.”

“Like the riffle?”

“Like the riffle.” Dean confirmed. Kathleen types in Sam’s name, and brought up his police record.  She glanced over the page, and then clicked on Dean’s record.

“Samuel Winchester. So, you know that his brother, Dean Winchester, died in St. Louis. And, uh, was suspected of murder.”

 “Yeah, Dean. Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though.” He told the two of you. You made a mental note to yourself to ask him about this at a later time.

“Uh huh.” Kathleen said, as she continued to search the records. “Well, he’s not showing up in any current field reports.”

“Oh, we already have a lead. I saw a surveillance camera by the highway.” Dean told her.

“Uh huh. The county traffic cam?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking the camera picked up whatever took him. Or whoever.”

“Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the county works department, but—well, anyhow, let’s do this the right way.” She said, grabbing some paper work. “Why don’t you two fill out a missing persons report and sit tight over here?”

“Officer, look, uh, he’s family. I kind of—I kind of look out for the kid. You gotta let us go with you.” Dean pleaded.

“ I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”

“Well, tell me something. Your county has its fair share of missing persons. Any of ‘em come back? Sam’s my responsibility. And he’s comin’ back. I’m bringin’ him back.” Dean said.

~

You and Dean sat outside the County Works Department, sharing a bench. Dean’s words seemed to have touched her, and she decided to let you help her. Now the two of you were just waiting for the pictures from the surveillance camera.

“It’s the not knowing that’s the worst.” You said, out of the blue. The two of you hadn’t really spoken since you got here, mostly silent in thought and fear.  Dean looked up at you as you spoke. “My mom went missing when I was a kid. It’s hard to lose someone you love, but what’s worse is- you know you really don’t need to hear this right now.”

“You lost your mom?” Dean asked, surprised that you would disclose such personal information.

“Yeah, not like I had much to begin with. She always left for days, weeks. And then one time she just never came back. My brother and I, we just assumed the worst. But my point is we aren’t going to do that with Sam. We’re going to find him. And it’s going to be okay.” You said, knowing deep down it was true. Something in your words struck Dean, it hit him hard and he didn’t know what to say.

“Greg, Helen, I think we’ve got something.” Kathleen said, addressing Dean and you by your fake names. She handed Dean some printouts, which you looked at from beside him. “These traffic cams take an image every three seconds, as part of the Amber Alert program. These images were all taken around the time that your cousin, Sam, disappeared.”

“This isn’t really what we’re looking for.” Dean said.

“Just wait, wait- next one. This one was taken right after Sam left the bar. Look at the back end of that thing. Now, look at the plates. ” Dean turned the page, and saw an image of a rusty truck driving. He turns to the next page, which is a close up of the license plates.

“The plates look new.” You said.

“Which means it’s probably stolen.” Dean added.

“So, whoever’s driving that rust bucket must be involved.” Kathleen said. At that moment, a beat up van drove by with an engine that was whining loudly.

“Hear that engine?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” You and Kathleen replied.

“Kind of a whining growl, isn’t it?”

“Sure.” Kathleen said.

“I’ll be damned.” Dean whispered under his breath.

~

_“We searched for him like crazy. Neither of us wanted to give up.”_

 “Okay, the next traffic cam is fifty miles from here, and the pickup didn’t pass that one, so….” Kathleen said, pointing to a traffic cam as you passed it.

“So, it must’ve pulled off somewhere. I didn’t see any other roads here.” Dean said.

“Well, a lot of these backwoods properties have their own private roads.” Kathleen explained.

“Great.” Dean grumbled, looking annoyed.

“So, Gregory, Helen?”

“Yeah?” You and Dean replied.

“I ran your badge numbers. It’s routine when we’re working a case with state police. For accounting purposes and what have you.” She explained further. Dean made a sound of agreement. You already didn’t like where this was going.

“And, uh, they just got back to me.” She said, pulling the car over. This was not good. She turns to Dean “It says here your badge was stolen. And there’s a picture of you.” She turned the computer to Dean, showing a picture of a heavy African American man. “And Helen.” She said, filling to a picture of a woman who was visibly at least 30 years older than you.

“I lost some weight. And I got that Michael Jackson skin disease.”

“I had a face lift and dyed my hair?”

“Okay, would you step out of the car please.” She said to Dean. You were already in the back of the cop car, so you were kind of trapped.

“Look, look, look. If you wanna arrest me, that’s fine. I’ll cooperate, I swear. But, first, please- let me find Sam.”

“I don’t even know who either of you are. Or if this Sam person is missing.”

“Look into my eyes and tell me I’m lying about this.”

“Identity theft? You’re impersonating an officer.”

“Look, here’s the thing. When we were young, I pretty much pulled him from a fire. And ever since then, I’ve felt responsible for him. Like it’s my job to keep him safe. I’m just afraid if we don’t find him fast- please. He’s my family.” Dean begged. What he said broke your heart.

“Same goes for me. We just want to find him. Then we’ll cooperate 100%.”

“I’m sorry. You’ve given me no choice. I have to take you in.” She said, with a pause and a sigh. “After we find Sam Winchester.

~

You walked back to the car after a quick coffee break. You sipped at your coffee, cherishing every drop. You doubted the prison they’d send you to would have it.

“Hey officer?” Dean said to Kathleen. “Look, I don’t mean to press our luck.”

“Your luck is so pressed.”

“Right. I was wondering- why are you helping us out anyways? Why don’t you just lock us up?”

“My brother, Riley, disappeared three years ago. A lot like Sam. We searched for him, but- nothing. I know what it’s like to feel responsible for someone, and for them- Come on. Let’s keep at it.” She said, getting into the car.

~

“Wait, wait, wait- pull over here. Pull over.” Dean said. Kathleen obliged, pulling the car over and getting out. “It’s the first turn off I’ve seen so far.”

“You two stay here, I’ll check it out.” She said

“No way.” Dean argues.

“You are civilians. And felons, I think. I’m not taking you with me.”

“You’re not going without us.” Dean said. You really wished he wouldn’t fight with her.

“Come on-” You start.

“(Y/n)-”

“Alright. You promise you won’t get involved? You’ll let me handle it?”She said, more to Dean than you.

“Yeah, I promise.” He said.

“I promise.” You echoed.

“Shake on it.” She said, extending her hand. Dean shook it, but while they were shaking hands, she placed a set of cuffs on his arm, and cuffed him to the car. “Are you going to wait in the car?” She asked you.

“If he gets the cuffs, then so do I.” She took your arm, and cuffed it to the door opposite Dean.

“This is ridiculous. Kathleen, I really think you’re going to need our help.”

“I’ll manage. Thank you.” She said, walking away. Dean reaches into his pockets.

“I gotta start carrying paperclips.”

“Relax,” You said, pulling a bobby pin out of your mess of hair. “I’ve got this.”

~

  
You had successfully picked yourself free, and went over to Dean.

“I got it, I got it.” He said, taking the bobby pin from you. “Man, you are lousy at this.”

“Sorry.” You said, with a sharp edge of sarcasm. “At least I had a bobby pin.” There’s a screeching of a truck a little ways away.

“Oh, son of a bitch.” Dean said, working to pick himself free. The car comes to a stretching halt. “Just go. I’ll catch up.” You work your way away from the car, avoiding the two men who are walking towards the cop car. You’re prepared to jump them if Dean can’t get himself free in time. But he does, and he joins you in the forest. You faintly heard the two men talking as you made your way further into the forest.

“Well, I’ve never seen him so angry before.” You heard one of the men say.

“Well, Lee, we’ve never been followed by the police before.” The other man said, unlocking the door to the car.

~

_And when we found him? God, I was so relieved.”_

The two of you ran for a while, being as silent as possible. You weren’t sure if there were more men around.

“Look.” Dean whispered, pointing to a barn and house up ahead. The two of you head there, and open the door. The inside is absolutely disgusting, and the smell nearly made you throw up. You looked around, and noticed a figure in a cage.

“Sam?” Dean asked. Sam smiled at him. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“How did you get out of the cuffs?” Kathleen asked.

“We know a trick or two.” You say with a shrug. She looked at you confused. “Felons, remember?”

“Alright.” Dean said, inspecting the lock on Sam’s cage. You look at Kathleen’s. “Oh, these locks look like they’re gonna be a bitch.”

“Well, there’s some kind of automatic control right there.” Sam said, point to a control panel. You went over to it and tried to make sense of the various buttons.

“Have you seen ‘em?” Dean asked.

“Yeah. Dude, they’re just people.”

“And they jumped you? Must be getting a little rusty there, kiddo.” Dean said, heading over to the control panel. He started pressing some buttons, you helped. Nothing happened. “What do they want?”

“I don’t know. They let Jenkins go, but that was some sort of trap. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Well, that’s the point. You know, with our usual playmates, there’s rules, there’s patterns. But with people, they’re just crazy.”

“These people are real sickos. God, what kind of psycho gets pleasure out of this?” You asked. It was one thing for a demon to pull some stunt like this, but a human? It made your blood boil.

“See anything else out there?” Sam asked.

“Uh, he has about a dozen junked cars hidden out back. Plates from all over, so I’m thinkin’ when they take someone, they take their car too.”

“Did you see a black mustang out there? About ten years old?” Kathleen asked.

“Yeah, actually I did.” Dean said. Her face fell at that. ‘Your brother? I’m sorry.”

“ Let’s get you guys out of here.”You said.

“And then we’ll take care of those bastards.” Dean added.

“This thing takes a key to work.” You said.

“Of course it does.” Dean said with a sigh. “Is there any key around here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright, we’d better go find it.” Dean said to you.

“Hey.” Sam called. You turned around. “Be careful. Both of you.”

“Yeah.” Dean said.

“Of course.”You said.

~

Inside the house, you and Dean worked together to find the key. You were glad he didn’t ask to split up because these people freaked you out. He examined one side of the room, while you examined the other. The room you entered first was full of jars and bottles. You were absolutely positive that you did not want to know what was in those jars. Dean grabbed your attention, and pointed out a wall full of Polaroid pictures. Each photo showed the two men from earlier standing next to a dead body. There was a picture of them holding Jenkin’s corpse, the man who went missing previously.

“I’ll say it again- demons I get. People are crazy.” Dean whispered to you.

“Amen.”

~

You and Dean went upstairs, and began searching another room which you guessed was a living room. A record of some sort is playing in the background. You heard Dean bump into something.

“What the-“ He said, seeing that the thing he hit was a wind chime made of bones.

“God, that’s disgusting.” You whispered. He nodded. He picked up a wooden pole leaning up against the wall, you assumed for self defense. The two of you made your way towards the kitchen, where someone was inside. Dean peaked around the corner. He gave you a nod; the key must be in there. He moved inside the kitchen, while you watched his back. There was movement from in front of you. You prepared yourself to drop kick and slam this thing into the ground, but as they got closer, you saw that the figure was a little girl. You heart softened a bit. As she came closer, the floor creaked. Dean turns around quickly to join you.

“Shh, it’s okay. We aren’t going to hurt you.” You whispered, trying to calm the girl. 

“I know.” She said, holding up a knife in each hand. She stuck one into Dean’s jacket and one into yours, pinning you both to the wall. “Daddy!!!”

“Jeez!” Dean complained, removing the knife. You pulled yours out, and held it up.

“Daddy!!” The girl called again. The two men from earlier entered the room. The one man grabbed Dean under his arm, and the other -Lee- attempted to grab you. You threw a stab at him, which made a small cut on his right arm, as Dean kicked the man that was trying to hold him down. Your second stab was intercepted, and Lee grabbed the knife and your arm, twisting it behind your back. Dean got thrown into a wall, causing the knife he was using to fall to the ground. Both of you were unarmed. The man ran at Dean , but Dean grabbed him first and pushed him to the ground. You kicked Lee, and he released you into the wall, next to Dean.

“I’m so kicking your ass.” Dean said to the man that had been fighting against him.

“And I’ve got the other one.” You said, raising your hands in preparation for an epic fist fight. Just then, Dean fell to the floor. You turned around quickly, to see the man from the kitchen, who had snuck up behind him and hit him upside the head with a pan. He took a swing at you, which you blocked. You struggled against him, trying to gain hold of the pan. Unfortunately, the other two men from earlier came up behind you, and grabbed you. You struggled against them, but were unable to escape.

“This one’s feisty, Pa.” One of the men said. They lead you into the living room, while Dean was being dragged by Pa, and tied you down to a chair. You kept struggling the entire time.

“Come on. Let’s hunt ‘em.” Lee said.

“Yeah. They sure would be fun to hunt.” The Pa laughed at this.

“Oh you gotta be kiddin’ me. That’s what this is about? You-you yahoos hunt people?” Dean said, coming to.

“You ever killed before?” Pa asked Dean.

“Well, that depends on what you mean.” Dean said with a laugh.

“I’ve hunted all my life. Just like my father, his before him. I’ve hunted deer and bear- I even got a cougar once. Oh boy. But the best hunt is human. Oh, there’s nothin’ like it. Holdin’ their life in your hands. Seein’ the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel powerful.”

“You’re a sick puppy.”  

“We give ‘em a weapon. Give ‘em a fightin’ chance. It’s kind of like our tradition passed down, father to son. Of course, only one or two a year. Never enough to bring the law down, we’ve never been that sloppy.”

“Yeah, well, don’t sell yourself short.” Dean said.

“You’re plenty sloppy.” You add.

“So, what, you two with that pretty cop? Are you two cops?”

“If I tell you, you promise not to turn us into ashtrays?” Dean asked, enraging Pa. Lee walked over and punched Dean.

“Leave him alone.” You said.

“Shut it girly.” He barked at you, and turned to Dean. “The only reason I don’t let my boys take you and your girl right here and now is that there’s something I need to know.” Pa walked over to the fireplace, and grabbed a hot poker.

“Yeah, how ‘bout it’s not nice to marry your sister?”

“Tell me- any of the cops gonna come lookin’ for you?”

“Oh, eat me. No, no, no, wait, wait, wait- you actually might.”

“You think this is funny? You brought this down on my family. Alright, you wanna play games? We’ll play some games. Looks like we’re gonna have a hunt tonight after all, boys. And you get to pick the animal. The boy or the cop?

“Okay, wait, wait- look, nobody’s comin’ for us, alright. It’s just the four of us.”

“You don’t choose, I will.” Pa said, placing the hot poker on Dean’s shirt. Dean screamed out in pain.

“Stop it! Stop it!” You yelled at him. He removed the poker from Dean, and shot you a death glare.

“Unless you want this in your mouth, I suggest you shut it.” He said, moving the poker up to Dean’s face.

“You son of a bitch!” Dean said, still looking seriously in pain.

“One more word, and I’ll take your eye.” He said, holding the poker less than an inch away from Dean’s eye.

“Alright, the guy, the guy! Take the guy!” Pa moved the poker down from Dean’s face. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in. Pa took a key from around his neck and handed it to his son.

“Lee, go do it. Don’t let him out, though. Shoot him in the cage.”

“What? I thought you said you were gonna hunt him. You were gonna give him a chance.”

“Lee, when you’re done with the boy- shoot the bitch to.” His son, Lee, nodded and left with his rifle. “Better clean this mess up before any more cops come runnin’ out here.” You looked over at Dean, and share a look that conveyed everything. Your fear, your hopelessness, and the awful truth that there may be no way out of this one.

You heard a gunshot and a little tear rolled down your check, as you feared the worst.

“You hurt my brother, I’ll kill you, I swear. I’ll kill you all. I will kill you all!” Dean shouted frantically at the men.

“Lee!” Pa called out. There was no reply. “Lee!” He called out again. You looked at Dean, and you could tell he was hoping the same as you: That Sam’s made it.

 “Jared, you come with me. Missy, you watch ‘em now.” Pa said. Jared grabbed two riffles, handing one to Pa, and they both left. Missy approached Dean, and held a knife so close to his eye that it made you flinch.

~

Sam stormed into the house a moment later, knocking at the girl and locking her in a closet. He untied Dean, and then you.

The three of you exited the house as quickly as you could, and met up with Kathleen, who was leaving the barn.

“Where’s the girl?”

“Locked her in a closet. What about the dad?” Dean asked. She paused.

“Shot. Trying to escape.” The four of you exchanged a look.

~

“So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They’re going to want to talk to you. I suggest that you three are long gone by then.” Kathleen said to you and the Winchesters.

“Thanks. Hey listen, I don’t mean to press our luck, but we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?”

“Start walking. Duck if you see a squad car.” Kathleen replied.

“Sounds great to me. Thanks.” Sam replied.

“Thank you for everything.” You said.

“Listen, uh.. I’m sorry about your brother.” Dean said.

“Thank you. It was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth- but it really isn’t.” She said. You felt the same way. “Anyway, you should go.”

~

“Never do that again.” Dean said to Sam as you walked down the road.

“Do what?”

“Go missin’ like that.”

“You were worried about me.”

“Of course we were.” You said. Dean shot you a look.

“All I’m sayin’ is, you vanish like that again, I’m not looking for you.”

“Sure you won’t.” Sam said with an eye roll.

“You should have seen it, Sam. He cried the entire time you were gone.” You said playfully.

“I did not!” Dean said defensively, giving you a playful shove.

“He totally did. It was super embarrassing.” You said. Sam laughed.

“Crying, then getting sidelined by a thirteen-year-old girl, huh?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“In our defense, she was tough as nails.”

“Two hunters against a thirteen year old? Getting rusty there kiddos.”

“Shut up.” Dean said with a laugh. Sam started laughing, and you did too. It was good to be with these boys. They made you feel like no one else did.

~

_“My car broke down, and who else would come to my rescue but Dean Winchester?”_

“Are you kidding me?” You said to your truck, as if chewing it out would suddenly make it start working. The three of you had agreed it was in your best interest to get out of town as soon as possible. You went back to your car, and Dean went back to his. Sam went back to the motel to gather up the boy’s stuff.

Only, when you tried to start your car, it wouldn’t go. You turned the key again and again, hoping it was a fluke. It wasn’t. You got under the hood, trying to figure out what was wrong. The answer? Everything. This car had been on its last legs since you got it. You were honestly surprised it had lasted this long. But now was not really the best time for this.

“Car troubles?” You heard from behind you. You turned around, and there he was. Dean Winchester. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

“Knock yourself out. But I don’t think there’s really anything to be done except take her to the junkyard.” Dean looked under the hood for a few minutes, before looking at you.

“This car is a piece of junk.”

“Tell me about it.” You said with a sigh. “I guess I’m going to have to play women in white and hitch hike.”

“Not on your life.” Dean said, walking over to his car, which was parked right behind you. “Get in.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Are you- Do you really want me- Hunt with you?” You said, trying to formulate a sentence that sounded reasonable.

“Sam likes you. I like you. You’ve proved that you’re more than capable. And there are going to be police officers and FBI agents after you in a few minutes. So get in the car.” You looked at him for a moment, and saw the sincerity on his face. You pulled him into a hug. This hug was nothing like the last time you parted, full of uneasiness and discomfort, but full of friendship and love. You grabbed your duffel bag, and dove into the backseat of the Impala.

~ _“_

Sam didn’t seem fazed at all by your presence as he got into the front seat.

“Where are we headed next?”

“There’s a case over in Montana that’s looking pretty interesting.” Dean said, looking at you in the rear view mirror.

Why had he changed his mind? Well, what he said earlier was true. You had proved that you could handle yourself. Dean saw that you were trustworthy. Sam liked you, and he liked you. You cared about the two of them, and although it made him feel uneasy, it also felt kind of good. He watched you worry about him in Nebraska, and he watched you worry about Sam here in Minnesota. It was a dangerous thing, getting close to people in this job. But, if you were going to get close to someone, you might as well keep them within arm’s reach so you could protect them.

_“I know it sounds stupid, getting into a car with two men you hardly even know. But somehow I knew that everything was going to be okay. So, I went with them, and I never looked back.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my work, feel free to tell me!
> 
> For those of you wondering, the flashbacks take place in season 1 episode 15, while the interview that is currently happening takes place in season 2 episode 7.
> 
> It's honestly so surreal to me that there are real people who are reading my story, and that actually like it. So, this is dedicated to you lovely people out there who take the time to support writers like myself. Your hits, comments, and kudos mean the world to me! I love you all, and you are super amazing!!!!!!!


	4. Shadows

**_“Hello Daddy, Hello mom! I’m your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!!!!!!”_ **

“Dean!!!” You groaned, covering your face with your pillow. This had been a daily event since you had joined up with the Winchesters.

**_“Hello world! I’m your wild girl. I’m your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!!!!!”_ **

“Rise and shine, (y/n)! Even Sammy is up already!!” You grabbed your pillow, and chucked it in Dean’s direction. A surprised Sam yelped when the pillow hit him instead of Dean.

“Sorry Sam.” You said.

“I do have to say, your aim is getting way better. But seriously, it’s time to wake up.” Dean said.

You sat up, looking around the messy motel room. The three of you had only been here two days, on a simple salt and burn, but the place looked like a hurricane had hit it. Hurricane Dean. You still couldn’t believe that one man could make such a huge mess by himself. You went over to the table, grabbing a cup of hot coffee. You noticed there was a large map out, being examined by Dean.

“Where to next?” You asked him.

“Illinois.”

~

“All right. This is the place.” Sam said, looking at the apartment complex across the street. This is where a young girl’s body had been mysteriously found, no signs of breaking and entering.

“You know, I’ve gotta say Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes. I feel like a high school drama dork.” The three of you were dressed up like employees from the girls alarm company. Dean had gripped about the costumes the whole way here. “What was that play you did? Was it- Our Town. Yeah, you were good, it was cute.”

“I wish I could have seen that.” You said, imagining a small version of Sam, dressed up and acting. It warmed your heart. Sam gave you and Dean a fed-up look.

“Look, do you guys want to pull this off or not?”

“I’m just sayin’, these outfits cost hard earned money, okay?”

“Whose?”

“Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?”

~

 “Thanks for letting us look around.” Sam said to the landlady as you entered the girl’s apartment. It looked like a nice and normal place.

“Well, the police said they were done with the place, so...” She said, gesturing to the apartment. In the middle of the living room, there were spots of blood on the carpet. “You guys said you were with the alarm company?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, no offense, but your alarm’s about as useful as boobs on a man.” The brothers shared a glance. They always did that.

“Well, that’s why we’re here. To see what went wrong and stop it from happening again.” Dean said, glancing around the place.

“Now, ma’am, you found the body?” Sam asked, beginning the interrogation. 

“Yeah.”

“Right after it happened?”

“No. A few days later. Meredith’s work called- she hadn’t shown up. I knocked on the door. That’s when I noticed the smell.” She explained. The smell still lingered in the air, even a week later.

“Any windows open? Any sign of break in?” Sam asked.

“No, windows were locked, front door was bolted. Chain was on the door, we had to cut it just to get in.”

“And the alarm was still on?” You asked.

“Like I said, bang-up job your company’s doing.”

“Mhmm. You see any overturned furniture, broken glass, signs of struggle?” Dean asked. The landlady shook her head.

“Everything was in perfect condition. Except Meredith.”

“And what condition was Meredith in?” Sam asked.

“Meredith was all over. In pieces. The guy who killed her must have been some kind of whack job. But I tell you, if I didn’t know any better, I’d have said a wild animal did it.” That caught you attention, as well as the brothers, who gave each other another knowing glance.

“Ma’am, do you mind if we take some time? Give this place a once-over?”

“Oh, well, go right ahead. Knock yourself out.” She said, taking her leave. As soon as she was gone, Dean pulled out his EMF meter.

“So, a killer walks in and out of the apartment- no weapons, no prints, nothin’.” Dean said.

“I’m tellin’ ya, the minute I found that article; I knew this was our kind of gig.” Sam said.

“Yeah, good work finding this one.” You said. The EMF meter began beeping like crazy.

“I think I agree with you.”

“So, you talked to the cops?” Sam asked Dean.

“Uh, yeah,” He said with a smirk. “I spoke to Amy, a, uh, charming, perky officer of the law.”

“Yeah? What did you find out?”

“Well, she’s a Sagittarius. She loves tequila, I mean- wow. Oh, she’s got this little tattoo-”

“Dean!” Sam said, interrupting him.

“About the case, Dean.” You said, with a sigh.

“Uh, nothin’ we didn’t already know. Except for one thing they’re keeping out of the papers.”

“Yeah?” You asked.

“Meredith’s heart was missing.”

“Her heart?” Sam asked, stunned.

“Yeah. Her heart.”

“Why would they take her heart?” You asked.

“Don’t know.”

“What do you think did it to her?” Sam asked.

“Well, the landlady said it looked like an animal attack. Maybe it was- werewolf?”

“No, no werewolf, the lunar cycle’s not right. Plus, if it was a creature, it would’ve left some kind of trace. It’s probably a spirit.” Sam reasoned.

“Hey, see if you guys can find any masking tape around.” Dean said, looking at the blood on the carpet.  The two of you searched the apartment, and eventually found some masking tape, which Dean used to connect the spots of blood. When he was finished, the pieces of tape formed an unusual pattern.

“Ever seen that symbol before?” Sam asked. You shook your head, the pattern was unfamiliar to you.

“Never.” Dean said, studying the shape.

 “Me either.”

~

You went to a bar, like always. Dean was flirting with the bartender, while you and Sam were at a table looking at their dad’s journal. You had to hand it to the Winchester boys; they sure knew what they were doing. And that journal of theirs was incredibly extensive.

“I talked to the bartender.” Dean said, sitting across from Sam, and next to you.

“Did you get anything? Besides her number?”

“Come on, I’m a professional. I’m offended that you would think that.” You and Sam gave him a knowing look. “Yeah, alright.” He said, holding up a napkin with her number on it.

“You mind doin’ a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?” Sam asked, annoyed with his brothers antics.

“Huh? Look, there’s nothing to find out. I mean, Meredith worked here, she waited tables, everyone here was her friend. Everybody said she was normal. She didn’t do or say anything weird before she died, so- what about that symbol, you two find anything?”

“Nothing.” You said with a sigh.

“It wasn’t in Dad’s journal or in any of the usual books.  We’ll just have to dig a little deeper, I guess.”

“Well, there was a first victim, right? Before Meredith?”

“Right. Yeah.” Sam said, pulling out a newspaper clipping about the first death. “His name was, uh- his name was Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was found mutilated in his town house. Same deal- the door was locked, the alarm was on.”

“Is there any connection between the two of them?”

“Not that we can tell. Or, at least not yet.” You said.

“Ben was a banker, Meredith was a waitress. They never met, never knew anyone in common- they were practically from two different worlds.” Sam explained.

“So, to recap, the only successful intel we’ve scored so far is the bartender’s phone number.” Dean said with a smirk.

 “We’ll keep researching, I’m sure we’ll find something. Right, Sam?” You said, looking at him. But he was looking at something else in the distance. You followed his gaze to the other side of the room, but couldn’t tell what he was looking at.

“What?” Dean asked him, clearly as confused as you were. “Sam?” He asked again, trying to get his brothers attention. Sam got up and walked over to the other side of the room. He reached another table, with a short, blonde haired women. He put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around to look at him. The two began talking.

“Do you know her?” You asked Dean.

“No.” He said, making his way over to his brother and the girl. You followed him.

“...Oh, I did. I came, I saw, I conquered. Oh, and I met what’s-his name, something Michael Murray at a bar.” You heard her say, as you and Dean made your way to awkwardly stand behind Sam.

“Who?” Sam asked.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I’m living here for a while.” She said. Dean cleared his throat loudly, trying to get Sam’s attention. They both ignored him, continuing on.

“You’re from Chicago?”

“No, Massachusetts- Andover. Gosh, Sam, what are the odds we’d run into each other? “

“Yeah, I know, I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Well, I’m glad you were wrong.” She said. Sam nodded, and Dean cleared his throat again.”Dude, cover your mouth.”

“Yeah, um, I’m sorry Meg. This is, uh- this is my brother, Dean. And our friend, (Y/n).” You gave Meg a polite nod, feeling extremely awkward about this whole situation.

“This is Dean?” She said, looking at him. He smiled.

“Yeah.” Sam said.

“So, you’ve heard of me.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of you. Nice- the way you treat your brother like luggage.” She said. Dean looked stunned.

“Sorry?”

“Why don’t you let him do what he wants to do? Stop dragging him over God’s green Earth.”

“Meg, it’s alright.” Sam said, calming her down. The four of you went quiet, and the silence kept getting more and more awkward by the second.

“Okay, awkward. I’m gonna get a drink now.” Dean said, giving Sam a puzzled look.

“ _We’re_ going to go get drinks now. Bye Sam. Meg.” You said, following Dean to the bar.

“Who the hell was that?” You asked.

“No idea. Glad to know Sam’ll bitch about me to anyone who’ll listen.”

“I’m sure it’s not like that.” You said, putting your hand on his shoulder to comfort him. One thing you noticed about the Winchester brothers was they sure knew how to bicker.

“I’m sure it’s exactly like that.”

“If Sam had a problem with you, I’m sure he’d let you know.”

“Apparently not.” Dean said, downing his drink.

~

“Who the hell was she?” Dean asked Sam as soon as you left the bar.

“I don’t really know. I only met her once. Meeting up with her again? I don’t know, man, it’s weird.”

“And what was she saying? I treat you like luggage? What, were you bitchin’ about me to some chick?”

“Look, I’m sorry Dean. It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana.” The case you had met them on. “But that’s not important, just listen-”

“Well, is there any truth to what she’s saying? I mean, am I keeping you against your will, Sam?”

“No, of course not. Now, would you listen?”

“What?”

“I think there’s somethin’ strange going on here.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn’t even that into me.”

“No, man, I mean like our kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road. And now, I run into her in some random Chicago bar? I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don’t think that’s a little weird?”

“I agree with Sam. I think it’s a little suspect.” Plus, that Meg girl gave you bad vibes.

“It could be a random coincidence, it happens.”

“Yeah, it happens, but not to us. Look, I could be wrong, I’m just saying that there’s something about this girl that I can’t quite put my finger on.” Sam said. Dean smirked.

“Well, I bet you’d like to. I mean, maybe she’s not a suspect, maybe you’ve got a thing for her, huh?” Dean teased, making Sam roll his eyes and laugh. “Maybe you’re thinkin’ a little too much with your upstairs brain, huh?”

“(Y/n), do me a favour. Check and see if there’s really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts.” Sam said, serious again.

“Will do.”

“And see if you can’t dig anything up on that symbol on Meredith’s floor.”

“What are you going to do?” Dean asked.

“I’m gonna watch Meg.”

“Yeah, you are.” Dean said with a laugh.

“I just want to see what’s what. Better safe than sorry.”

“Alright, you little pervert.”

“Dude.”

~

“Why did Sam ask you to look up Meg, and not me?” Dean asked.

“What, are you jealous?” You asked with a scoff. You looked over at Dean, who was researching on Sam’s laptop. “It’s because I’m with him on this one. She does seem like a suspect. How’s that symbol research coming?”.

“I found something. I’m going to call Sam.” He said, picking up his phone and dialing Sam’s number.

“Wait, I want to talk to him first.” You said, heading over to Dean.

“Call him on your own phone.”

“Fine”, you said, picking up your phone and dialing Sam.

“Hey.” He answered.

“Hey.”

“Let me guess. You’re lurkin’ outside that poor girl’s apartment, aren’t you?” You looked at Dean, who was sitting across the room from you. It was weird, hearing his voice in real life and on the phone.

“No.” Sam said. There’s a silence. “Yes.”

“You’ve got a funny way of showing your affections.”

“Did you find anything on her?” Sam asked you.

“Sorry Sam, she checks out. I found her in the Andover phonebook. I even found her high school picture.”

“Now, why don’t you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?” Dean said.

“What about the symbol. Any luck?” Sam asked, ignoring Dean’s comment.

“Yeah. It’s, uh- turns out it’s Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It’s a sigil for a Daeva.” Dean answered.

“What’s a Daeva?”

“It translates to “demon of darkness”. Zoroastrian demons, and they’re savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes- kind of like, uh, demonic pit bulls.”

“Fun.” You said with an eye roll.  

“How’d you figure that out?” Sam asked.

“Give me some credit, man. You don’t have a corner on paper chasin’ around here.”

“Oh, yeah? Name the last book you read.” Dean’s face fell a little.

“No, I called Dad’s friend, Caleb. He told me, alright?”

“Yeah.” Sam said.

“Anyway, here’s the thing- these Daevas, they have to be summoned, conjured.”

“So, someone’s controlling it?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m sayin’. And, from what I gather, it’s a pretty risky business, too. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them. And, uh, the arms, and torsos.”

“So, what do they look like?” Sam asked.

“Well, nobody knows, but nobody’s seen ‘em for a couple millennia. I mean, summoning a demon that ancient? Someone really knows their stuff. I think we’ve got a major player in town. Now, why don’t you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?”

“Seriously, Dean?” You asked, sending him a glare.

“Bite me.” Sam said through the phone.

“No, bite her. Don’t leave teeth marks though-” You heard a click, signalling that Sam had hung up. “Sam? Are you-?”

“Way to drive him away, Dean.” You said, hanging up the phone.

“Oh, come on. He’s my brother. I’ve gotta have some fun.”

“If you want fun, go hit up that bartender. I’ll man the fort.”

“As great as that offer sounds, I should probably stay here.”

“Wow, Dean, that’s actually responsible. I’m impressed.” You gave him a playful grin.

 “I couldn’t help but notice that you’re never with anyone. Do you have a boyfriend or something?”

“God, no.” You said with a snort. “I just figured you guys wouldn’t appreciate it too much if I have sex in the motel room.”

“Well, as long as it’s not on my bed...” Dean joked, earning a laugh from you.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, I’m going to take advantage of your responsible mood by making you do some more research.” You said, passing him a huge pile of paper work. “Are we sure the victims don’t have anything in common?”

“We haven’t found anything yet. But, we don’t have the complete records. I could try and get them from Amy.” You raised your eyebrows playfully.

“Ah, Amy. The charming, perky officer of the law.”

“You do listen.” Dean said, whipping out his phone to call her.

~

After a _very_ long conversation full of playful banter and flirtation, Dean managed to convince Amy to give him a copy of the police records, which he had just picked up. When he came back into the hotel room, you were still on your laptop, further researching the Daeva. Not that you had actually found anything.

“You’ve got the records?”

“Of course I do.” He said, holding up the papers. He sat down across from you, and the two of you silently researched together. It was nice. You liked the way you just sort of fit in with the Winchesters, how well the three of you worked together.

“Holy crap.” Dean muttered.

“Did you find something?” You asked, looking at him.

“Both of the victims, they were born in Lawrence Kansas.” He said, looking stunned. You were confused.

“Does that mean anything to you?” You asked, not understanding why, exactly, he was so stunned.

“Lawrence was where our mom died.”

“So, you think this thing... is tied up with your mom’s death? With the demon that killed her?”

“I think it’s a possibility.”

“Let’s wait ‘til Sam get’s back. See what he has to say about all this.” Half an hour later, he came bursting through the motel door.

 “Dude, I gotta talk to you.”  The brothers said to each other at the same time. Sam filled the two of you in on everything about following Meg.

“So, hot little Meg is summoning the Davea?”

“Looks like she was using that black alter to control the thing.

“So, Sammy’s got a thing for the bad girl.” Dean said with a chuckle.

“What was with that bowl thing again?” You asked.

“She was talking into it. The way witches use to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone.

“With who? The Daeva.”

“No, Dean, you said that they were like demonic pitbulls, remember? She wouldn’t be able to reason with them,” You said.

“This was someone different. Someone who’s giving her orders. Someone who’s comin’ to that warehouse,” Sam said. The three of you sat in silence for a minute before Dean went over to look at some files.

“What I was gonna tell you earlier- I pulled a favor with my-” he cleared his throat “-friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims- we missed something the first time.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“The first victim, the old man- he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn’t born here. Look where he was born.” He said, pointing at the man’s file.

“Lawrence, Kansas.” Sam whispered, as stunned as Dean had been when he first noticed.

“Mhm. Meredith, second victim- turns out she was adopted. And guess where she’s from.” Dean said, holding out the paper, which read “Lawrence, Kansas”. Sam sat down across from Dean, clearly shocked.

“Holy crap.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom. That’s where everything started. So, you think Meg’s tied up with the demon?”

“I think it’s a definite possibility.” Dean replied.

“Beats me. But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation.”

“Sounds good to me.” You said, agreeing with Dean.

“No, we can’t. We shouldn’t tip her off. We’ve gotta stake out that warehouse. We’ve gotta see who, or what, is showin’ up to meet her.”

“I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t think we should do this alone.”

~

 “We think we’ve got a serious lead on the thing that killed Mom. So, uh, this warehouse- it’s 1435 West Erie. Dad, if you get this, get to Chicago as soon as you can.” Dean said, leaving a message on Dad’s voicemail.

 

“Voicemail?” Sam asked, entering the room with a bag full of weapons.

“Yeah. Geez, what did you get?” He asked. Sam chuckled.

“I ransacked that trunk. Holy water, every weapon I could think of, exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. (Y/n)’s still out there, checking to make sure I didn’t miss anything. We’re not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything.” Dean nodded, and the brothers began to load their guns silently.

“Big night.”

“Yeah. You nervous?”

“No. Why, are you?”

“No. No way.” Sam said. The two were quiet for a few seconds. “God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, alright?”

“I know. I’m just sayin’, what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I’d sleep for a month. Go back to school- be a person again.”

“You wanna go back to school?” Dean asked, surprised.

“Yeah, once we’re done huntin’ the thing.”

“Huh.”

“Why, is there something wrong with that?”

“No. No, it’s, uh, great. Good for you.”

“I mean, what are you gonna do when it’s all over?”

“It’s never gonna be over. There’s gonna be others. There’s always gonna be somethin’ to hunt.”

“But there’s got to be something that you want for yourself-”

“Yeah, I don’t want you to leave the second this thing’s over, Sam.” Dean said, walking away from Sam towards the motel’s dresser.

“Dude, what’s your problem?” Sam asked. Dean was silent before turning back to look at his younger brother.

“Why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?”

“’Cause Dad was in trouble. ‘Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom.”

“Yes, that, but it’s more than that, man.” He said, returning to the dresser silently. He turned around to look at Sam again. “You and me and Dad- I mean, I want us... I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again.”

“Dean, we are a family. I’d do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before.”

“Could be.” Dean replied, looking heartbroken.

“I don’t want them to be. I’m not going to live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you’re gonna have to let me go my own way. You’ll still have (Y/n).”

“She’s not you.”

~

You could practically feel the tension as soon as you walked into the motel room.

“Find anything else?” Sam asked you after a few moments of silence.

“We pretty much got it all.” You said, throwing a few more items in the bag. Truth be told, you knew that the brothers had some issues to work out, and you wanted to give them some time alone.

“So, we’re ready?”

“Let’s do this thing.”

~

Dean followed Sam’s instructions to get to the warehouse. You could practically feel the brothers nerves. If this really was the thing that killed their mom, like they thought it might be, this would be a big day for them. You just hoped that all three of you would make it out alive.

“(Y/n), you’re sure you want to come in? Because you can wait in the car if you want. I’d feel better if you waited in the car.”Dean asked, pulling up to the warehouse.

“Yes, Dean.” You said, feeling a bit annoyed. This was the third time he had asked you.

“This isn’t your fight to pick. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

 “How many times do I have to tell you, Dean? This whole “partnership” thing means that your fight is my fight. I’m coming with you guys, and it’s all going to be fine.” You said, trying to convince yourself as much as him.

The two of you followed Sam’s lead, exiting the car and climbing up an elevator shaft. It was a difficult climb, and you worked hard to control your breathing. You felt the adrenaline rushing through you, like it always did on hunts. As you reached the top of the elevator shaft, you saw Meg, standing at an alter speaking some ancient language. Quietly, the three of you squeezed through the space between the gate and the wall, keeping your eyes trained on her. As soon as you were through, you pulled out your gun, and pointed it at her. You followed Sam and Dean, who went and hide behind some crates on the other side of the room.

“Guys.” Meg said, causing the three of you to freeze up. She had seen you? “Hiding’s a bit childish, don’t you think?”

“Well, that didn’t work out like I planned.” Dean said, causing Meg to turn around and face you.

“Why don’t you come out?” She asked. The three of you emerged from behind the crates. You weren’t feeling too good about the situation. “Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So, where’s your little Daeva friend?” Dean asked.

“Around. You know, that shotgun’s not going to do much good.”

“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. The shotgun’s not for the demon.”

“So, who is it, Meg? Who’s coming? Who are you waiting for?”

“You,” She said, before all three of you flew to the ground.

~

“Hey, Sam? Don’t take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend... is a bitch.” You heard Dean say. You opened your eyes, your head feeling tender. You let out a little groan.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked, looking at you. The two of you were tied up beside each other, while Sam was at a separate post. You gave him a little nod, even though your head hurt like hell.

 “This, the whole thing, was a trap. Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearing what you had to say. It was all a set up, wasn’t it?” Sam asked, earning a laugh from Meg. “And that the victims were from Lawrence.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. It was just to draw you in, that’s all.”

“You killed those two people for nothing.”

“Baby, I’ve killed a lot more for a lot less.”

“You trapped us. Good for you. It’s miller time. Why don’t you kill us already?” Dean asked.

“Not very quick on the uptake, are we?” Meg asked, leaning closer to Dean. “This trap isn’t for you.”

“Dad. It’s a trap for Dad.” Sam said, figuring it out. You looked at Meg, who smiled.

“Oh, sweetheart- you’re dumber than you look. ‘Cause even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn’t walk into something like this. He’s too good.”

“He is pretty good, I’ll give you that.” Meg said, walking over to Dean. She sat down, straddling his legs. “But, you see, he has one weakness.”

“What’s that?” Dean asked.

“You. He lets his guard down around his boys, lets his emotions cloud his judgement. I happen to know he is in town. And he’ll come and try to save you. And then the Daevas will kill everybody- nice and slow and messy. Although, I might warm them up, and have them kill the spare first.” She said, looking at you.

“Go to hell,” You said angrily.

“Baby, I’m already there.” She said, giving you a sly grin. You hated demons.

“Why you doin’ this, Meg? What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?” Sam asked, drawing her attention away from you and Dean. You knew he was stalling so that one of you could escape, and take her down. You grabbed the knife you had at the ready, and began sawing at the rope.

“I’m doing this for the same reasons you do what you do—loyalty. Love.  Like the love you had for Mommy—and Jess.” She taunted, moving closer to him.

“Screw you.”

“Come on, Sam. There’s no need to be nasty.” Meg said, sliding over to him. She leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “I think we both know how you really feel about me. You know, I saw you watching me—changing in my apartment. Turned you on, didn’t it?”

 “Get a room, you two.” Dean complained.  

“I didn’t mind. I liked that you were watching me. Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun.” She said, beginning to kiss his neck. Watching made you feel extremely uncomfortable, and you were sure your cheeks were flushed. You focussed on cutting the ropes that held you bound, sawing your way to freedom.

“You wanna have fun? Go ahead then. I’m a little tied up right now. “She smiled and continued to kiss Sam. A loud clanking  noise from Dean made her stop. She got up and walked behind your shared post, and saw that both of you had knifes in your hands and were working your way to freedom. She took them away, and tossed them out of your reach. She swung around to the other side of the post, to face you and Dean.

“Nice going hot shot.” You said to Dean. Meg smiled at him, and he replied with a guilty chuckle. She then went back over to Sam.

“Now, were you just trying to distract me while your pals cut free?”

 “No. No. That’s because I have a knife of my own.” Sam said, breaking free from his ropes. He smashed his head into Meg’s. She fell to the floor, while he groaned in pain.

“Sam! Get the altar!” Dean called to his brother. Sam walked over to the altar and overturned it with ease. Suddenly, the shadow demon appeared and grabbed Meg. She was dragged across the floor and through the window, falling down to the street below. Sam grabbed his knife and cut the two of you free from your ropes. Together, you walked over to the window to see Meg sprawled on the sidewalk, dead.

“So, I guess the Daevas didn’t like being bossed around.”

“I guess not.” You replied.

“Hey, Sam?”

“Hm?”

“Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that’s not so buckets-o’-crazy, huh?” Dean said, smiling at Sam then walking away.

~

“Why didn’t you just leave that stuff in the car?” Dean asked, looking at the bag of weapons Sam was carrying into the motel room.

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again—better safe than sorry.” Sam said, as Dean unlocked the door to your room. The boys entered first, and you followed. They stopped in their tracks, and you noticed a figure standing by the window.

“Hey!” Dean said. You hit the light switch, and it illuminated the room. The boys looked at this man, stunned.

“Dad?” Dean asked. You looked at the man. So this was the infamous John Winchester.

“Hey, boys.” He said, looking at his sons. Dean walked towards his father, and the two of them shared an emotional hug. This moment felt too personal to invade, so you turned your gaze to the floor. When Dean and his father pulled apart, John looked at Sam.

“Hi, Sam,” He said.

“Hey, dad,” He replied softly. The two of them didn’t hug, which didn’t surprise you. John’s gaze turned to you.

“(Y/n) (L/n).” You said simply, introducing yourself. He gave you a once over, trying to figure you out.

“John Winchester.” He said, as if you didn’t know who he was. As if he wasn’t a legend. You only nodded in reply.

“Dad, it was a trap. I didn’t know, I’m sorry.” Dean apologized.

“It’s all right. I thought it might’ve been.”

 “Were you there?”

“Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?”

“Yes, sir.” They replied, at the same time. It was strange to you, the way they called him sir, and how serious they suddenly sounded.

“Good. Well, it doesn’t surprise me. It’s tried to stop me before.”

“The demon has?” Sam asked.

“It knows I’m close. It knows I’m gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell—actually kill it.”

“How?” Dean asked. John smiled.

“I’m workin’ on that.”

“Let us come with you. We’ll help.” Sam said. Dean shot him a warning look.

“No, Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don’t want you caught in a crossfire. I don’t want you hurt.”

“Dad, you don’t have to worry about us.”

“Of course I do. I’m your father.” He said, with a pause. “Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time.”

“Too long.” Sam said. His father and him embraced. You smiled a bit at the sight, wondering what it would be like to get to see your family again. A minute later, they pulled apart. The three of them looked at each other, tearfully. Suddenly, the shadow demon attacked John. He was thrown into a set of cabinets and crashed to the ground. You and Sam also fell.

“No!” Dean called out, before being thrown to the ground as well. The Daeva was ruthless, throwing you across the room. A long scratch appeared across your face, and you screamed out in pain. The room was full of screams, as the invisible forces attacked you and the Winchesters.

“Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so let’s light ‘em up!” Sam called out from where he had placed the bag of weapons. He lit up a flare, and the room was instantly filled with smoke and a blinding white light. The Daeva vanished, and you tried feeling your way around the room. You coughed as the smoke filled your lungs. You heard another person coughing near you, and you reached out to take a hold of them.

“(Y/n)?”

“Sam?” You asked, tightening your grip on his arm.

“Dad!” Dean called out, through his fits of coughing.

“Over here!” You heard. The two of them made their way out of the room, you and Sam following closely behind. Once you escaped the room, you took in a deep breath of fresh air. You looked at the boys, who both looked as badly beaten as you. The four of you exited the building quickly, and made your way towards the car. Sam rushed, putting the bag in the backseat of the Impala.

“All right, come on. We don’t have much time. As soon as the flare’s out, they’ll be back.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Sam, wait! Dad, you can’t come with us.” Dean said.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You kids- you’re beat to hell.”

“We’ll be alright.”

“Dean, we should stick together. We’ll go after those demons-“

“Sam! Listen to me! We almost got Dad killed in there. Don’t you understand? They’re not gonna  stop. They’re gonna try again. They’re gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad’s vulnerable when he’s with us. He’s- he’s stronger without us around.”

“Dad- no.” Sam said, putting a hand on his father’s shoulder. “After everything- after all the time we spent looking for you- please. I gotta be a part of this fight.”

“Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you’ve got to trust me, son.” John said, which Sam shook his head to. “Okay, you’ve gotta let me go.”

All of you are silent, the three of them close to tears.. Finally, Sam looked at his hand, which rested on his father’s shoulder, and gave his father a simple pat, before letting go. John and Dean shared a look, before John went to his truck. He looked back, at his sons.

“Be careful, boys.” He said, looking at them. Then, he looked at you. “Take care of them, (Y/n).”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my work, even little ones, feel free to tell me! 
> 
> This chapter takes place in season 1 episode 16.
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter. I was away with my family, but I promise that the next chapter will be up soon!


	5. Hell House

**_“Fire...of unknown origins...took my baby away!”_** Dean sang, waking you up. You looked at him from the backseat of the Impala, where you had spent the past five hours sleeping peacefully. Based on Sam’s reaction, you guessed he wasn’t too happy with Dean’s wakeup call either. He pulled a plastic spoon from his mouth, and gave Dean a death glare.

“Hah ha, very funny.” Sam said, turning down the music.

“Dean, you better have a seriously good reason for waking me up.” You said, glaring at him.

“Sorry, there’s not a lot of scenery here in East Texas, you kinda gotta make your own.”He said, laughing at the “joke” he had played on Sam.

“Man we’re not kids anymore Dean. We’re not going to start that crap up again.”

“Start what up?” You asked.

“Pranking stuff,” He told you. “It’s stupid and it always escalates.”

“Aw, what’s the matter Sammy, scared you’re going to get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?”

“All right, just remember you started it.”

“Bring it on baldy.”

“Just so you know, if I get pranked, both of you are going to die.” You warned.

“Oh come on, (Y/n). Where’s your sense of adventure?” Dean said, looking at you through the rear-view mirror.

“I mean it. Our lives are horrible enough already, don’t you think? I don’t do pranks.” Dean sighed, and looked back at the road.

“Where are we anyway?” Sam asked.

“A few hours outside of Richardson. Give us the lowdown again?”

“Alright,” Sam said looking at his papers. “About a month or two ago this group of kids goes poking around in this local haunted house.”

“Haunted by what?” Dean asked.

“Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters. Anyway, this group of kids see this dead girl hanging in the cellar.”

“Did they ID the corpse?” You asked.

“Well, that’s the thing. By the time the cops got there the body was gone. So cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains.”

“Maybe the cops are right,” Dean said.

“Maybe, but I read a couple of the kids firsthand accounts. They seemed pretty sincere.”

“Where’d you read these accounts?” Dean asked.

“Well, I knew we were going to be passing through Texas.” Sam said, looking a little bit embarrassed. “So, umm, last night I surfed some local... paranormal websites. And I found one.”

“And what’s it called.”

“HellHoundsLair.com.” Sam said sheepishly.

“Seriously?” You asked.

“Let me guess, streaming live out of Mom’s basement.”

“Yeah, probably,” Sam said with a grin.

“Yeah. Most of these websites wouldn’t know a ghost if it bit ‘em in the persqueeter.”

 “Look. We let Dad take off. Which was a mistake, by the way. And now we don’t know where the hell he is, so in the meantime we gotta find ourselves something to hunt. There’s no harm in checking this thing out.”

“Fair enough,” You said.

“All right. So where do we find these kids?”

“Same place you always find kids in a town like this.”

~

“It was the scarist thing I ever saw in my life, I swear to God.”

“From the moment we walked in the walls were painted black.”

“Red.”

“I think it was blood.”

“All these freaky symbols.”

“Crosses and stars and...”

“Pentagons.”

“Pentacostals.”

“Whatever, I had my eyes closed the whole time.”

“But I can tell you this much. No matter what anybody else says...”

“That poor girl.”

“With the black...”

“Blonde...”

“Red hair, just hanging there.”

“kicking!”

“Without even moving!”

“She was real.”

“One hundred percent.”

“And kinda hot. Well, you know, in a dead sort of way.”

“Okay!” Dean said, looking and Sam with his eyes raised. You were starting to agree with him; this case might be a bust.

“How’d you even find out about this place anyway?”

“Craig.”

“Craig.”

“Craig took us.”

~

The Craig kid worked in a music shop. The three of you had no trouble tracking the place down. It was the sort of place you knew Dean loved, with records everywhere.

“Fellas. And lady. Can I help you with anything?”

“Yeah, are you Craig Thurston?” Sam asked.

“I am.”

“Well, we’re reports with the _Dallas Morning News_. I’m Dean, this is Sam, and (Y/n).”

“No way. Well, I’m a writer too. I write for my school’s lit magazine.”

“Well, good for you Morrissey.”

“Umm. We’re doing an article on local haunting and rumor has it you might know of one.” Sam said.

“You mean the Hell House?”

“That’s the one.” You said.

“I didn’t think there was anything to the story.”

“Why don’t you tell us the story?” Sam asked.

“Well, supposedly back in the '30s this farmer, Mordachai Murdoch, used to live in this house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression, his crops were failing, he didn't have enough money to feed his own children. So I guess that's when he went off the deep end.”

“How?”

“Well, he figured it was best if his girls died quick, rather than starve to death. So he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop but he just strung 'em up, one after the other. And when he was all finished he just turned around and hung himself. Now they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl that goes inside.”

“Where’d you hear all this?” Dean asked.

“My cousin Dana told me. I don’t know where she heard it from. Ya gotta realize, I- I didn’t believe this for a second.”

“But now you do.”

“I don’t know what the hell to think, man. You guys, I- I’ll tell you exactly what I told the police, okay? That girl was real. And she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God, I don’t wanna go anywhere near that house ever again, okay?”

“Thanks.”

~

Of course, the Hell House was extremely difficult to get to. The forest was deep, and the path was muddy.

“Can’t say I blame the kid.” Sam said, looking at the house. It looked like it needed a serious remodelling, everything was falling apart.

“Yeah, so much for curb appeal.” Dean joked. Making your way into the house, Dean pulled out his EMF meter, which began making sounds.

“You got something?” You asked.

“Ye-ah. The EMFs no good.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“I think that thing’s still got a little juice in it,” Dean said, gesturing to the power lines by the house. “It’s screwing with all the readings.”

“Yeah, that’d do it.”

“Come on, let’s go check out the rest of the house.” You said, opening the front door. “If this ghost really does try to hang girls up, I’ll make the perfect bait.”

“Just stay close, alright?”

“Yes, sir,” You said, jokingly saluting Dean. 

“Looks like old man Murdock was a bit of a tagger here in his time.”

“And after his time too. That reverse cross has been used by Satanists for centuries but this sigil of sulfur didn’t show up San Francisco until the ‘60’s.”

“That is exactly why you never get laid,” Dean said staring at Sam.

“Actually, brainy is the new sexy,” you said, defending Sam.

“Really?” The boys asked. You nodded.

“Hey, have you seen this one before?” You asked.

“No.”

“I have. Somewhere.” Dean said, inspecting the symbol. Sam rubbed his fingers over it.

“It’s paint. Seems pretty fresh too.”

“You know I hate to agree with authority figure of any kind, but... the cops may be right about this one.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Well, why don’t we-” You were interrupted by a sudden noise from the other room. The three of you exchanged glances; the brothers both took a side by the door. Dean pulled you next to him, being typically overprotective. You rolled your eyes, but stuck behind him. Dean and Sam made eye contact, and both of them burst through the door, you followed shortly after. Bright light shined into your eyes, making you wince.

“Oh, cut. It’s just a coupla humans.” You looked at the two boys. The one held a small electric gadget, the other held a camera that he switched off. “What are you guys doing here?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked angrily.

“Ah-ha-ha. We belong here, we’re professionals.”

“Professional what?”

“Paranormal investigators.” He said, handing the brothers business cards. “There you go, take a look at that boys.”

 “ _Seriously_?” You asked. These guys were going to get themselves killed.

“Well, hello there beautiful.” He said, taking notice of you for the first time

“Are you talking to me?” You asked

“Yeah. Name’s Ed. Ed Zeddmore. That’s my partner Harry Spangler over there.” He said, gesturing to the guy holding the camera. He gave a shy nod.

“You guys run that website. Hellhounslair.com.” Sam said.

“Yeah, we do. I know you’re probably a big fanAnd we know who you guys are too.” He said, looking at Sam and Dean. They looked at him sharply. “Amateurs. Looking for ghosts and cheap thrills.”  

“Yep. So if you guys don’t mind, we’re trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation here.” Harry said, looking at the brothers.

“You can stay though babe. We can teach you all about hunting ghosts.” Ed said, picking up the EMF meter. It looked more commercial than yours or Deans. “Harry, why doncha tell her about EMF?”

“EMF?” Sam asked from behind you, playing dumb. You could practically hear the laugh he was holding back.

 “Electromagnetic field? Spectral entities can cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector. Like this bad boy right here.”He turned it on. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Dean smirking at Sam. You couldn’t blame him, this whole situation was downright hilarious.

“Whoa. Whoa. It's 2.8mg!”

“2.8. It's hot in here. Or maybe it’s just her.” Ed said, looking back at you.

“Have you ever actually seen a ghost before?” You asked.

“Once. We were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off the table...”

“By itself.”

“Well, we didn’t actually see it, we heard it. And something like that.. it, uh... it changes you.”

“Oh, I can imagine.” You said with an eyeroll.

“Well, we should go, let them get back to work.” Dean said to you and Sam.

“Aren’t you going to stay?” They asked you.

“Sorry boys, this whole thing is just too spooky for me.”

“We can protect you.”

“I’m good, thanks.” You said, turning to follow Sam and Dean.

 “You have our number! Call us!” Ed called out after you. “She’ll definitely call us.”

~

“Well, aren’t you the charmer (Y/n). You had those guys falling all over you.”

“I’m guessing it’s because they’ve never actually talked to a real girl before.”

“Probably.” Dean said with a little smile. You were walking over to the library to meet up with Sam after looking through the missing persons, trying to ID the corpse.

“Hey.” Sam said, coming out of the library at the same time you arrived.

“Hey Sam, did you find anything?” You asked.

“Well I couldn't find a Mordechai but I did find a Martin Murdock who lived in that house in the '30s. He did have children but only two of them, both boys, and there's no evidence he ever killed anyone.”

“Huh,” Dean said.

“What about you guys?”

“Well those kids didn't really give us a clear description of that dead girl but we hit up the police station.”

“There was nothing. Absolutly nothing. There were no matching missing persons.”

“Dude, come on, we did our digging, man, this one's a bust all right. For all we know those hellHound boys made up the whole thing.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“I say we find ourselves a bar and some beers and leave the legend to the locals.” Dean said, going to get into the Impala. You went to get in, but Sam grabbed your arm.

“Just wait a minute.” He said. Sam leaned down to look in the window. Dean turned the key in the ignition, and Latino pop music blasted from the speakers. Dean tried to turn it off, instead making the windshield wipers go on. You laughed, looking at Sam.

“Nice one.”

“Thanks.” Once Dean had managed to turn everything off, you and Sam got into the car. He licked his finger and marked an imaginary '1' in the air before pointing to himself

“That’s all you got? Weak. That is bush league.” Dean said, giving him a dirty look. He pulled away, with you and Sam still laughing.

~

So much for that house not being haunted. Emergency vehicles and men moved around outside the house, and a girl’s body was brought out on a stretcher.

“What happened?” Dean asked a man standing outside.

“A coupla cops say a girl hung herself in the house.”

“Suicide?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. She was a straight A student, with a full ride to UT too. It just don’t make sense.” He said, shaking his head, and walking away.

“Whaddaya think?”

“I think maybe we missed something.”

~

You decided to come back, and check the house out again. You were crouched behind a bush with the Winchester. There were two police officers guarding the door.l

“I guess the cops don’t want anyone else screwing around in there,” Sam said.

“Guess not.”

“We’ve still gotta get in there,” Dean said. He could hear faint whispering, so he peaked out from the hiding place. “I don’t believe it.”

You and Sam both turned to see Ed and Harry approaching, hunched over, wearing all sorts of gadgets, whispering and shh-ing each other.

“I got an idea.” Dean said, cupping his hands together. He rose slightly, and turned towards the cops. “Who ya gonna call!” Ed and Harry made some confused noises, which grabbed the cop’s attention.

“Hey! You!” They said, chasing after the two and yelling. The three of you laughed as you made your way to the house. Once inside, Sam grabbed out the riffles, handing one to Dean, and one to you. Dean turned on a flashlight, looking at the symbol.

“Where have I seen that symbol before? It’s killing me!”

“I thought you just lied about knowing it because I said brainy was sexy.”

“Come on, (Y/n). Would I do that?”

“Yes. Now, the ghost is probably going to try to hang me, so I’m trusting that you’ll have my back.”

“Of course.” They said, following you into the basement.

“Hey Sam. I dare you to take a swig of this.” Dean said, picking up a jar off one of the basement shelves. The pale red liquid inside sloshed around.

“What the hell would I do that for?”

“... I double dare you.” Dean said. Sam shook his head, and looked away. “(Y/n)?”

“No way in hell would I drink that.” A noise sounded from the cabinet, which you moved closer to, raising your riffle. At Dean’s nod, Sam opened the door. Rats came out, running away the flashlight.

“Arghhh! I hate rats!” Dean said, lifting his feet up.

“You made an awful career choice then.”

“You’d rather it was a ghost?” Sam asked.

“Yes,” Dean said. And you felt a chill behind you. All three of you swung around at the same time to see Mordechai raising an axe above his head. The three of you shot at him rapidly, and when Dean’s shot hit, he disappeared.  

“What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?”

“I dunno. Come on. Come on, come on!” Dean called, and you didn’t need another invitation. You began running towards the stairs, when Mordechai smashed his axe down, causing the shelves nearby to fall down, knocking Dean down. You and Sam attempted to fight Mordechai, which was extremely difficult because of his immunity to rock salt. He took a swing with his axe, trying to hit Sam, but instead hitting the electrical box. Sparks flew everywhere. The three of you took your chance, and ran for the door.

~

  
“Maybe we should just get out of here.” Harry said, raising his night vision googles. 

“No. Would John Edward go? We've lost the cops, let's find our centre and get some work done. Ok? All right?” They approached the porch, camera raised. You, Sam, and Dean burst out, falling through the emergency tape and rolling down the steps. Immediately, you sprung to you feet and kept running. 

“Get that damn thing outta my face!” Dean shouted at Harry, who was filming you.

“Go go go!” Sam said.

“Come on!” You called out. Ed and Harry still faced the door, seeing Mordechai.

“Sweet Lord...”

“..........of the rings. RUN!!! GO GO GO” They turned to flee and ran straight into the arms of the cops. 

“Look, there's a...look. There's a man over there....I saw....where'd he go?”

“Boys come on.” The cop said, grabbing their collars.

~

  
“What the hell is this symbol? It's buggin' the hell outta me. This whole damn job's buggin' me. I thought the legend said Mordechai only goes after chicks.” Dean was sitting on the bed drawing the symbol, while you and Sam attempted to get some research done.

“It does.”

“All right. Well I mean that explains why he went after you two, but why me?”

“Hilarious.” Sam said, giving Dean a glare. “The legend also says he hung himself but did you see those slit wrists?”

“Yeah.”

“What's up with that? And the axe too.”

“Ghosts are usually pretty strict, right? They follow the same patterns over and over?” You asked, frustrated by this whole situation.

“But this mook keeps changing.” Dean said, clearly as frustrated as you were.

“Exactly.” Sam said, still clicking away on his laptop. “I'm telling ya, the way the story goes ... wait a minute.”

“What?” Dean and you asked.

“Someone added a new post to the Hell Hound site. Listen to this. 'They say Mordechai Murdock was really a Satanist who chopped up his victims with an axe before slitting his own wrists. Now he's imprisoned in the house for eternity’.”

“That’s so weird. I don’t understand this at all Sam.” You said.

“I know. Where the hell is this going?” Still staring at the symbol he has drawn, Dean suddenly sat up straight. 

“I don't know but I think I might have just figured out where it all started.”

~

“Hey Craig? Remember us?” Dean asked as you entered the record shop for the second time.

“Guys, look I’m not really in the mood to answer any of your questions okay?” Craig said, looking way worse than the last time you saw him.

“Oh don’t worry. We’re just here to buy an album, that’s all.” Dean said, flipping through the records, and picking one out.

“You know, I couldn’t figure out what that symbol was and then I realized that it doesn’t mean anything. It’s the logo for the Blue Oyster Cult.” Dean explained to you and Sam.“Tell me Craig, you, uh, you into BOC? Or just scaring the hell outta people? Now why don’t you tell us about that house... without lying through your ass this time.”

“Alright.” Craig said with a sigh. “My cousin Dana w as on break from TCU. Ah, I guess we were just bored, looking for something to do. So I showed her this abandoned dump I found. We thought it would be funny if we made it look like it was haunted. So we painted symbols on the walls, some from some albums, some from some of Dana’s theology textbooks. Then we found out this guy Murdock used to live there so we ...we made up some story to go along with that. So they told people, who told other people. And then these two guys put it on their stupid website. Everything just took on a life of its own. I mean I, I thought it was funny at first but... now that girl's dead! It was just a joke, you know. I mean, none of it was real, we made the whole thing up. I swear!”

“All right.” Sam said softly. The three of you turned to leave.

“If none of it was real, how do you explain Mordechai?”

~

The research was boring, as always. Sam was in the shower, and Dean had gone out to pick up a few things. Sighing, you went over to the kitchen to make yourself some coffee. Some days, it seemed like that was all you did; make coffee and research.

“Hey, I’m back!” Dean called out, opening the door and then slamming it shut.

“Hey.” You called over your shoulder, prepping your coffee.

“Hey, where were you?” Sam asked from the bathroom.

“Oh, I went out.”

“Hey Dean. Do you want some coffee?” You asked him.

“I’m good thanks.”

“So I think I might have a theory about what's going on.” Sam said, still in the bathroom.

“Oh yeah?”

“What if Mordechai is a Tulpa?”

“Tulpa?”

“Yeah, a Tibetan thought form.” Sam explained. You heard the bathroom door opened, so you turned around to look at him. _Damn, he was hot._

“Ahh, yeah, I know what a Tulpa is. Hey why don't you get dressed, I wanna go grab something to eat.”

“You couldn’t have said something before I made coffee?” You asked.

“You can bring it with you.”

~

“Here you go.” Your server said, handing your coffee to you. You had finished the other cup on the car ride here.You thanked them, and followed the Winchesters to a nearby table. You couldn’t help but notice Sam constantly adjusting his jeans.

“Dude what's your problem?” Dean asked, apparently noticing Sam’s problem as well.

“Nothing, I'm fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So, tell us more about these Tulpas.” You said to Sam.

“Ok, so there was this incident in Tibet in 1915. Group of monks visualised a golem in their head. The meditated on it so hard they bought the thing to life. Outta thin air.”

“So?” Dean asked.

“That was 20 monks. Imagine what 10,000 web surfers could do. I mean Craig starts the story about Mordechai, then it spreads, goes online. Now there are countless people all believing in the bastard.” 

“Now wait a second. Are you trying to tell me that just because people believe in Mordechai, he's real?”

“I dunno, maybe.” Sam said, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“People believe in Santa Claus -- how come I'm not getting hooked up every Christmas?” Dean asked.

“Cuz you're a bad person. And because of this...” Sam said, turning his laptop so that you and Dean could see a photo of one of the Hell House symbols.

“That's a Tibetan spirit sigil. On the wall of the house. Craig said they were painting symbols from a theology textbook. I bet they painted this, not even knowing what it was. Now that sigil has been used for centuries, concentrating meditative thoughts like a magnifying glass. So people are on the HellHounds website, staring at the symbol, thinking about Mordechai ... I mean I don't know, but it might be enough to bring a Tulpa to life.”

   
“That would explain why he keeps changing.” You said.

“Right, as the legend changes, people think different things, so Mordechai himself changes. Like a game of telephone. That would also explain why the rock salt didn't work.” Sam said, while grimacing and adjusting himself again.

“Yeah because he's not a traditional spirit.” Dean said.

“Yeah.” Sam said, still fidgeting.

“Ok. So why don't we just...uhh ... get this spirit sigil thingie off the wall and off the website?”

“Well it's not that simple. You see, once Tulpas are created they take on a life of their own.”

“Great. So if he really is a thought form how the hell are we supposed to kill an idea?”

“Well it's not gonna be easy with these guys helping us. Check out their home page.” Sam said, showing the two of you the footage taken the previous night. He was still squirming. “Since they've posted the video their number of hits have quadrupled in the last day alone.”

“Damn.” You said.

“Hmph. I got an idea. Come on.” Dean said.

“Where we going?” Sam asked.

“We gotta find a copy store.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked Sam, who was still itching and adjusting himself.

“I think I'm allergic to our soap or something.”

“Well, we can try a new brand or....” You trailed off as you noticed Dean laughing.

“You did this?” Sam asked. Dean continued laughing.“You're a friggin jerk!”

“Oh yeah.” Dean said, walking to the car.

~

“You thought the prank Sam pulled earlier was funny.” Dean said as he drove to pick up Sam. The two of you had gone to the copy store while Sam had gone back to the motel to change.

“Because that didn’t affect me in anyway.”

“And this one did?”

“I had to watch Sam _adjusting_ himself.”

“Oh come on. I saw the way you looked at him after he got out of the shower.” Dean said, raising his eyebrows at you. There was something hidden in his words, something that almost sounded like... hurt?

“Look, just because he’s attractive, and yes, I am admitting that he is attractive, doesn’t mean I’m into him. Sam is... Well, he’s Sam. He’s like my brother.”

“So there’s no way the two of you will ever have sex in the motel room? Thank God.”

“Dean!”

~

“No, no, no, forget it. Forget it! I'm not going back in there again.” Harry said to Ed. The two of them sat together in their trailer, surrounded by equipment. It was just another reminder of what he had seen earlier.

“Harry. Look at me. Right here. Ok? You are a ghost hunter, ok?”

“I know but, Ed, I've never seen a real ghost before Ed, like a real ghost, an apparition!”

“This stuff here...this is our ticket to the big time right here. Fame, money, sex. With girls. OK? Be brave. WWBD. What Would Buffy Do. huh?”

“What would Buffy do. But Ed, she's stronger than me.”

“It's ok.” There was a pounding on the door. Harry jumped a foot in the air and squealed.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me. Would you guys please come out so we can talk?” You asked.

 “It's her!” Ed said. Both of them stuck their heads out the door to see Sam, Dean, and you. “And them.”

“Ah, would you look at that! Action figures in their original packaging -- what a shock.” Dean joked.

“Guys, we need to talk” You said.

“Yeah, um, sorry. We're ahhh, a little bit busy right now.”

“Ok well we'll make it quick. We need you to shut down your website.” Dean said.

“Man, you know, these guys got us busted last night, spent the night in a holding cell...” Ed said with a laugh.

“I had to pee in that cell urinal. In front of people. And I get stage fright.”

“Why should we trust you guys?”

“Look guys. We all know what we saw last night, what's in the house. But now thanks to your website there are thousands of people hearing about Mordechai.” Sam explained.

“That's right. Which means people are gonna keep showing up at the Hell House, running into him in person, somebody could get hurt.” Dean added.

“Yeah, yeah...” Ed said with an eyeroll.

“Ed maybe he's got a point, maybe....”

“Nope...”

“No.”

“We have an obligation to our fans, to the truth.”

“Well I have an obligation to kick both your little asses right now –”

“Dean--Dean, hey, hey, just, forget it, all right?” You said.

“These guys... you could probably bitch slap them both, I could probably even tell them that thing about Mordechai... but they're still not gonna help us. Let's just go.”

“Whoa.. whoa...” Harry and Ed said at the same time.

“Yeah, you're right.” Dean said.

“Come on guys.” You said, leading the way. The three of you walked away, with the two of them trailing closely behind.

“What you say about...?” Ed asked.

“Hang on a second here.”

“Wait...wait.”

“What thing about Mordechai you guys?”

“Don't tell 'em Sam.” Dean said.

“But if they agree to shut the website down Dean.”

“They're not going to do it, you said so yourself.”

“No wait. Wait. Don't listen to him ok? We'll do it. We'll do it.” Ed said.

“It's a secret Sam.”

“Look, it is a really big deal all right. And it wasn't easy to dig up. So only if we have your word that you'll shut everything down.”

“Totally.”

“Alright.” Sam said, taking in a deep breath. You handed them some paperwork.  

“It's a death certificate. From the '30s. We got it at the library. Now according to the coroner, the actual cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

“That's right he didn't hang or cut himself.”

“He shot himself?” Ed asked, surprised.

“Yep. With a .45 pistol.” Sam said.

“To this day they say he's terrified of them.” You explained.

“Matter of fact they say if you shoot him with a .45, loaded with these special wrought-iron rounds -- it'll kill the sonuvabitch.” Ed and Harry sniggered gleefully. Harry immediately spun around and bolted back towards the trailer, while Ed followed slowly.

“Harry. Slow your roll buddy. They're gonna know we're excited.”

~

The three of you sat in a booth, you and Dean on one side, Sam on the other.. Sam was looking at his laptop (as always), while Dean reached up to the 3D artwork of a fisherman holding a big fish and pulled the cord. The fisherman's mouth moved up and down and an extremely annoying laugh played.

“Really Dean?” You asked, giving him a glare.

“If you pull that string one more time I'm gonna kill you.” Sam said, pulling the cord to stop it. Dean stared straight at Sam while pulling the cord again. Sam immediately stopped it, glaring at Dean. 

“Come on man, you need more laughter in your life. You know you're way too tense.” Sam gave Dean another dirty look.

“No one needs that laugh in their life.” You said, looking up at the fisherman.

“They post it yet?” Dean asked. Sam moved the laptop around so that you and Dean could see it and stabbed at his salad angrily.

“We've learned from reputable sources that Mordechai Murdock has a fatal fear of firearms. All right. How long do we wait?”

“Long enough for the new story to spread, and the legend to change. I figure by nightfall iron rounds will work on the sucker.” Sam held his beer out towards the two of you. You both grabbed your own beers, and tapped them together.

“Sweet.” Dean said, before taking a drink. You helped yourself to a long swig of your own beer. Dean went to put the bottle down, but it was stuck to his hand. Sam cracked up as Dean stared at it, confused. 

“You didn't.”

“Oh, I did!” Sam said, holding up a tube of super glue. You chuckled.

“You find this funny.” Dean said, looking at you.

“I’m sorry Dean.” You said, trying to hold back your laughter. Dean shook his hand while Sam, who was laughing almost as hard as you were, reached up and pulled the string again.

~

It was Dean’s idea to us the fisherman as a distracter. As the two cops guarding the hell house went to investigate the sound, the three of you snuck inside. All three of you were on high alert, and had your guns at the ready.

“I barely have any skin left on my palm.” Dean said, readjusting his gun in his hand.

“I’m not touching that line with a ten foot pole.” Sam said. Dean shone his flashlight in Sam’s face until he winced.

“You guys are unbelievable.” You said, rolling your eyes. Dean moved into the next room.

“So, you think old Mordechai’s home?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” Sam said, with a shrug.

“Me either.” A voice said from behind. You spun around, and pointed your gun at the figures, who you recognized as Ed and Harry.

“WHOA! WHOA!” Ed said.

 “What are you trying to do, get yourself killed?” Sam asked.

“You’re lucky we didn’t blow you to pieces!” You said.

“We’re just trying to get a book and movie deal, okay?” The sound of knives being sharpened comes from the basement, sending you immediately back on alert. 

“Oh crap.” Ed said. The two of them went behind Sam, Dean and You, holding up their camera.

“Ah guys, you wanna ... you wanna open that door for us?”

“Why don't you?” Dean asked.  Mordechai bursted through the door holding an axe and screaming. You shot at him until you emptied your gun. He holds on, then wavers and disappears into mist. The three of you waited a beat, before taking off to make sure the other rooms are clear.

“Oh God. He's gone. He's gone.”

“Did you get him?” Harry asked.

“Yeah they got him.”

“No, on camera, did you get him on camera.”

“Ah, ah, I ...”

“Let me see it, let me see it.” Harry said, taking the camera and flipping it open. Mordechai appeared, and slammed his axe through the camera, forcing Harry to the ground and disappeared again. 

“Hey! Didn't you guys post that B.S. story we gave you?” Dean asked, running into the room.

“Of course we did.” You and Sam came in through the other door, guns at the ready.

“But then our server crashed.” 

“Yeah.”

“So it didn't take?”

“UH...mmm....”

“So these, these guns don't work.”

“Yeah.”

“Great.” You said, while lowering your gun. It won’t do you any good to shot it now.

“Sam, any ideas?” Dean asked.

“We are getting outta here. Come on, Ed.” Harry said, grabbing Ed. They ran past Dean to the other room where Mordechai had appeared again. Screaming, they ran to the front door, which was locked. Mordechai followed them.

“Jesus Mary and Joseph.”

“The power of Christ compels you, the power of Christ compels you. THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!!!”

“HEY! Come and get it you ugly son of a bitch.” Sam yelled, from behind them.

“You two, get out of here, now!” You yelled, helping Sam distract Mordechai.

“We're out of here...” They said, taking your advice and booking it. You tried to grab the axe he held, which didn’t work. He knocked you with the handle of his axe, making you fall to the floor. He put his axe to Sam’s throat, lifting him off his feet with the pressure of the axe. In the other room, Dean was splashing kerosene everywhere.

“Dean!” Sam gasped, his supply of air being cut off.

“HEY!” Dean said, appearing from the other room. He held up a spray bottle and lit the gas, making a plume of fire appeared.

“Go go go!” He called to Sam and you. You tried to stand up, feeling dizzy.

“Here, I’ve got you.” Dean said, helping you stand up and leave the building. “Mordechai can't leave the house, we can't kill him -- We improvise.”

Dean had one of his arms wrapped around your waist so that he could support you. With the other, he held his lighter up. He flicked it, and threw it back into the room. It burst into flame as the three of you ran outside.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked, looking at you.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Head injuries always look worse than they are.” You said, tenderly touching your head. There was a bit of blood, and you were a bit dizzy, but it was nothing too major.

“That's your solution? Burn the whole damn place to the ground?” Sam asked Dean.

“Well nobody will go in anymore. I mean look, Mordechai can't haunt a house if there's no house to haunt. It's fast and dirty but it works.”

“Well what if the legend changes again and Mordechai is allowed to leave the house?”

“Well -- well then we'll just have to come back.” You looked back at the house, watching it burn to the ground.

“Kinda makes you wonder. Of all the thing we hunted, how many existed just cuz people believed in them.”

~

“I was thinking that Mordechai has a really super high attack bonus.” Harry said.

“Man I got the munchies right now.” Ed said. He turned around to come face to face with you and the Winchesters. “M’lady and Gentlemen.”

“Hey guys.” Sam greeted.

“Should we tell 'em.” Harry asked Ed.

“Hey, might as well, you know, they're going to read about it in the trades.”

“So this morning we got a phone call from a very important Hollywood producer.”

“Oh yeah, wrong number?” Dean joked.

“No, smart-ass. He read all about the Hell House on our website and wants to option the motion picture rights. Maybe even have us write it.” Ed said, as the two of them placed their belongings into a totally overloaded car.

“And create the RPG.”

“The what?” Dean asked.

“Role playing game.”

“Right.”

“A little lingo for you. Anyhoo, ahhh, I know its hard babe, but now that we’re famous, we’ll have lots of chicks.”

“I’ll survive.” You reassured.

“You could always come with us. Be part of the team.”

“Thanks, but I’ve already got my boys.”

“Well then, you’ll have to excuse us. We're off to la-la land.” Ed said.

“Well congratulations guys. That sounds really great.” Sam said.

“Yeah. That's awesome, best of luck to you.” Dean said.

“Oh yeah, luck. That has nothing to do with it. It's about talent. Sheer unabashed talent.”They got into their car and started pulling off. 

“See ya round...”

“Wow.” Dean said, watching them leave.

“I have a confession to make.” Sam said.

“What's that.”

“I, uh...I was the one that called them and told them I was a producer.”

“Yeah well I'm the one who put the dead fish in their back seat.” Dean said with a laugh.

“You guys.” You said with a laugh.

“Don’t act so innocent, (Y/n).” Dean said, putting a hand on your shoulder. “I noticed that their back tire was flat.”

“And you’re suggesting I had something to do with that?” You said, trying to look serious. “Dean, I would _never_ flatten... Okay, fine. It was me.”

“You’ve been holding out on us. I thought you didn’t do pranks.”

“Okay, so maybe I do.”

 “Well, now that we’ve wrecked their lives, do we have a truce?” Sam asked.

“Yeah truce. At least for the next 100 miles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! There are two things I'd like to address.
> 
> First, since it's September I've had to get back to reality. I have an 8-5, Monday to Friday job. This means that I'll have less time to write this story. I will try my hardest to keep on updating every week, but it might end up being every two weeks. I want you to know that I am committed to writing this story, and I will not leave you hanging. If, for some reason, I do have to abandon this fic (which I seriously doubt will happen), I'll make sure to tie it together all nice and neat at the end. I'm really not the type of person to leave things unfinished. 
> 
> Second, some of you may be reading this and wondering "this is a Dean/Reader fic, so where is the romance?" Let me warn you that this fic will be a slow burn. Right now, I'm focusing on developing a good relationship, full of trust and friendship, between Dean, Sam, and the Reader. I promise that the romance will eventually happen, but first let's get a good relationship going. In the meantime, you'll have to settle for playful banter. 
> 
> As always, all mistakes are mine. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my work, feel free to tell me! This chapter takes place Season 1 Episode 17.


	6. Something Wicked

“Yeah. You guys probably missed something, that's what.”

“Dude, we ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers, and we couldn't find a single red flag. Are you sure you got the coordinates right?”

“Yeah, I double checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconson. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important Sammy.”

“Well I'm telling you we looked and all we could find was a big steamy pile of nothing. If Dad's sending us hunting for something I don't know what.”

“Well maybe he's going to meet us there.”

“Yeah. Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point.”

“You're a real smart ass you know that?.... Don't worry I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing.”

“Yeah? What makes you so sure.”

“Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right.”

“No it doesn't.”

 “It totally does.”Dean glanced at Sam then looked back at the road with a little grin. The impala cruised past a sign for Fitchburg, population 20,501.

~

“Well...the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on.” Dean said to Sam. He offered him one of the coffees he was holding. You sipped at your own.

“You got the time?

“It’s ten after four.” You said, looking down at your trusty watch.

“Why?” Dean asked, looking at Sam.

“What’s wrong with this picture?” Sam asked, gesturing to the playground in front of him. It looked like your typical, run of the mill playground. There was a little girl there, playing by herself.

“School’s out, isn’t it?” Dean asked.

“Yeah. So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now.” Sam asked. Dean looked over to a woman sitting at the park bench reading a magazine.

“Sure is quiet out here.” He said, getting the woman’s attention.

“Yeah, it's a shame.”

“Why's that?”

“You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing.”

“How many?”

“Just five or six but serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching.” All of you watched the little girl playing by herself.

~

“Dude. Dude I am  _not_  using this ID.” Sam said, looking down at the fake ID Dean had passed him.

“Why not?”

“Cause it says bikini inspector on it!”

“Dean, why would you even put that on an ID?”

“It’s _funny_.”

“You know Dean, jokes aren’t funny if you have to explain them.”

“Don't worry, alright? She won’t look that close. Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence.” Dean said, spinning Sam towards the desk. He looked nervous.

“If we get busted, I’m going to kill you.” You said, shooting Dean a glare.

“Relax, Sammy’s got this.”

“Hi. I'm Doctor Jerry Caplin, Centers for Disease Control.” Sam told the receptionist.

“Can I see some ID?” She asked. Dean snickered beside you.

“Yeah of course.” Sam said, sending Dean a dirty look from beside you. He flashed her his ID quickly, and you were pretty sure he was using his thumb to cover part of it. “Now could you direct me to the pediatrics ward please?”

“Okay well, just go down that hall, turn left and up the stairs.” Sam thanked her, and approached you and Dean wearing a major bitchface.

“See. I told you guys it would work.” Dean said, still smirking.

“Follow me. It's upstairs.” Sam said, leading the two of you through the hospital corridor. As the three of you walked, Dean looked into a room. An old woman sitting in a wheelchair slowly turned her head to look at him. An inverted cross hangs on her wall. He froze for a minute.

“Dean!” Sam called, noticing that he had strayed from the two of you. Dean caught up with you, sending another glance back toward the room. 

~

“Well, thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker.” Dean said, greeting the doctor in charge of watching the children.

“Well I'm glad you guys are here. I was just about to call CDC myself. How'd you find out anyways?”

“Oh some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and, uh, he must've beat you to the punch.”

“Usually they only send two of you guys.”

“Well, I’m training.” You said. “These guys are showing me the ropes. It’s all very exciting.”

“So you say you got six cases so far?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, five weeks. At first we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now...”

“Now what?” You asked.

“The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems just aren't doing their job. It's like their bodies are ... wearing out.”

“Excuse me, Dr Hyecker.” A nurse said, entering the room. She gave him some forms to look over and sign.

“You ever see anything like this before?” Sam asked Dr. Hydecker.

“Never this severe.”

“And the way it spreads...that's a new one for me.” The nurse said.

“What do you mean?” You asked her.

“It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after another.”

“You mind if we interview a few of the kids?” Dean asked.

“They're not conscious.”

“None of them?” You asked.

“No.”

“Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?” Dean asked. It would be hard to take this case on if you didn’t have anyone to talk to.

“Well, if you think it'll help.” The doctor said.

“Oh it will.” You assured him.

 “Who was your most recent admission?” Dean asked.

~

 “I should get back to my girls.” The father said, looking gloomy. Both his girls had been afflicted by this condition and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us. Now you say Mary is the oldest?” Sam asked, starting the interrogation as always.

“Thirteen.”

“And she came down with it first, right? And then...”

“Bethany, the next night.”

“Within 24 hours?” You asked.

“I guess. Look, I, uh, I already went through all this with the doctor.”

“Just a few more questions if you don't mind. How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?” Dean asked.

“No. We think it was an open window.”

“Both times?”

“The first time, I, I don't really remember but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed.” “So you think she opened it?”

“It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could've.”

“Well, thank you for your time sir.” You said, turning to head back to the car.

“You know this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia.” Sam said once you were out of earshot.  

“Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man, look, Dad sent us down down here for a reason. I think we might be barking up the right tree.”

“I think it’s worth looking into.” You said, agreeing with Dean. “I'll tell you one thing.” Sam said.

“What?”

“That guy we just talked to? I'm betting it'll be a while before he goes home.”

~

“You guy got anything over there?” You asked, scanning your corner of Bethany’s room with the EMF. “Nah, nothing.” Dean said.

“Yeah, me neither.” They keep checking. You moved over to the window, to inspect it. Yousaw a patch of rotting wood, and after looking at it for a second, you realised that it was in the shape of a handprint.

“Hey guys?” You said. “Yeah?”

“You were right, Dean. It's not pneumonia.” You gestured to the handprint. Dean and Sam came over, and they stared at a handprint rotted into the wood.

“It's rotted. What the hell leaves a handprint like that?” Sam asked, as puzzled as you were. But not Dean. No; he had seen that mark before.

_~_

_He was staring at a photo of the same handprint. He was a lot younger then, maybe 9 or 10? His dad came out of the bedroom, loading his sawn off._

_“All right. You know the drill, Dean. Anybody calls, you don't pick up. If it's me, I'll ring once, then call back. You got that?”_

_“Mm-hmm. Only answer the phone unless it rings once first.” He repeated._

_“Come on, dude, look alive. This stuff is important.”_

_“I know, it's just...we've gone over it like a million times and you know I'm not stupid.”_

_“I know you're not, but it only takes one mistake, you got that?” Dad said, as he packed up his things. “All right, if I'm not back Sunday night...?”_

_“Call Pastor Jim.” “Lock the doors, the windows, close the shades. Most important....”_

_“Watch out for Sammy.” Dean said, looking at his little brother, who was sprawled out on the couch watching cartoons.“I know.”_

_“All right. If something tries to bust in?”_

_“Shoot first, ask questions later.”_

_“That's my man.” Dad said, patting his shoulder._

 “I know why Dad sent us here.” Dean said, looking a little nauseous. “He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job.”

~

“So, you said your Dad hunted one of these things before?” You asked.

“Yeah, he hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16, 17 years ago.” Dean turned to Sam “You were there. You don't remember?”

“No.

“And I guess he caught wind of the things in Fitzburg now and kicked us the coordinates.”

“So wait, this...”

“Shtriga.”

“Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?” “Yeah, maybe.”

“What even is a Shtriga Dean?” You asked.

“It's ... kinda like a witch I think. I don't know much about 'em.”

“Well I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal. If Dad went after it why is it still breathing air?” Sam asked.

“Cause it got away.”

“Got away?”

 “Yeah Sammy it happens.” Dean said. You could tell he was starting to get frustrated.

“Not very often.”

“Well I don't know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn't have his wheaties that morning.”

“What else do you remember?” You asked.

“Nothin'. I was a kid all right?” Dean said defensively.

“Woah, calm down. I was just asking.”

“I’ll go get us checked in.” Dean said, heading over to the reception desk and ringing the bell. A boy of around 10-12 comes from the back room to help him.

“What’s his issue?” You asked Sam.

“I think the better question is what _isn’t_ his issue.”

“True. You know, I worry about him sometimes.”

“Me too.” Sam said, looking at you. You shared a nervous glance.

~

“Two queens?” The boy asked him. He kind of reminded Dean of when he was younger.

“And a pull out couch?”

“Yeah.” The kid said, then muttered something under his breath sounding oddly like an “I’ll bet.”

“What’d you say?”

“Nice car!”

“Hi.” A woman said as she made her way to the desk, smiling at them both.

“Hi.”

“Checking in?”

“Yeah.”

“Ahh, do me a favor, go get your brother some dinner.” The lady said to her son.

“I'm helping a guest!” She gave him a look and he grimaced before turning to go.

“Funny kid.”

“Oh, yeah. He thinks so. Will that be cash or credit?” “You take MasterCard?” She nodded. “Perfect. Here you go.”

~

_“When's Dad gonna get back?” Sammy asked._

_“Tomorrow.” Dean said, grabbing a pot off the stove._

_“When?”_

_“I dunno. He usually comes in late though. Now eat your dinner.” Dean said, pouring the food from the pot into a bowl._

_“I'm sick of scabetti-ohs.”_

_“Well -- You're the one who wanted 'em!”_

_“I want lucky charms!”_

_“There's no more lucky charms.”_

_“I saw the box!”_

_“Okay, maybe there is but there's only enough for one bowl and I haven't had any yet.”Sammy gave him puppy dog eyes, which instantly weakened his resolve. Dean sighed, and dumped the bowl of spaghetti-o’s into the garbage. He thumped the cereal box on the table. Sam reached into the box and grabbed the toy._

_“D'you want the prize?” He asked, holding it out to Dean._

~

 “Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find but you were right. Shtriga is a kind of witch.”

“Honestly Sam, how do you even find these things?” You asked. You had been researching just as long as him, but yet to find half the information he had.

“Mad skill.” He teased. “Anyways, they're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to Ancient Rome. They feed off  _spiritus vitae_.” “Spiri-what?” Dean asked. “Vitae. It's Latin, translates to 'breath of life'. Kinda like your life force or essence.” “Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?” “It's a thought. you know she takes your vitality maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone but they prefer...” “Children?” You asked, even though it wasn’t really a question. All the victims had been kids. “Yeah. Probably because they have stronger life force. And get this. Shtrigas are '...invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man’.” “No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds.” Dean said. “What?” Sam asked, giving his brother a confused look. “If you catch her when she's eating you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron. Ahhh... buckshots or rounds I think.”

“How do you know that?” You asked. “Our dad told me. I remember.” “Oh. Huh. So uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?” Sam said, continuing to stare at Dean. “Nope, that's it.” Dean said, looking at Sam who was staring at him. “What?” “Nothing. Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting.” “What kind of human disguise?” You asked Sam.

“Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started.”

“Hang on.” Dean said, corssing the room to head over to you and Sam. “What?” Sam asked.

“Check this out. I marked down all the addresses of the victims.” Dean said, grabbing a map and showing you. “Now these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center?” “The hospital.” You and Sam said, looking at each other, then Dean. “The hospital,” Dean said with a nod. “Now when we were there I saw a patient, an old woman.” “An old person huh?” Sam said. “Yeah.”

“In a hospital? Phew.” Sam said, shaking his head and sniggering. “Better call the Coast Guard.”

“Well listen, smart-ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall.” You and Sam looked up at Dean. He raised his eyebrows at you.

~

Deciding to break into the hospital had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you weren’t so sure. Honestly, it was kind of creepy. You stuck close to Dean and Sam, who lead the way down the hall. They ducked as you heard someone coming, realizing it was the doctor.

“Good night Dr Hydecker.” 

“See you tomorrow Betty.”

“Try to get some sleep.”

The three of you hid until Dr. Hydecker passed by, then continued on to the old woman's room. You opened the door and snuck in, Dean taking the front, and Sam hanging behind you, all three of you with your guns drawn. The woman sat in her wheelchair facing toward the corner. She appeared to be sleeping. You watched as Dean slowly leaned in closer and closer towards her face.

“Who the hell are you?!” She said, turning her head to face him. You jumped a little, along with Dean, who leapt up against a wall cabinet, pulling his gun up. 

“Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?” She grumbled to herself. “They're always stealing around here.”

“No!” Sam said, turning on the lights to look at her. Although you could understand why Dean made the mistake, she appeared to be an ordinary old woman. “Ah, ma'am, we're maintenance. We're sorry. We thought you were sleeping.”

“Ahhh, nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open.” She laughed, then gestured to the wall. “And fix that crucifix, would ya? I've asked four damn times already!” 

Dean, who was still looking seriously freaked out, spun the crucifix, causing it to swing the right way up.

~

“‘I was sleeping with my peepers open?’ Hahahaha.” Sam laughed.

“I almost smoked that old girl, I swear. It's not funny!”

“Okay, I’m with Dean on this one. That was scary as hell.” “Oh man, you shoulda seen your face.” Sam said, still snickering.

“Yeah, laugh it off. Now we're back to square one. Dean said, noticing the motel owners son sitting behind the office. He looked seriously upset. “Hang on.”

“Hey what's wrong?” Dean asked him.

“My brother's sick.”

“The little guy?”

“Pneumonia.” He said with a nod. “He's in the hospital. It's my fault.”

“Ah c'mon, how?”

“I shoulda made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't've got pneumonia if the window was latched.” Dean looked away for a moment. You and Sam watched him, you wondered were exactly this was going.

“Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault. Okay?” 

“It's my job to look after him.” Sam looked back and forth from Dean to the kid. His mother hurried out of the motel towards her car.

“Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service so don't bother with any of the rooms.”

“I'm going with you.”

“Not now, Michael.”

“But I gotta see Asher!” Michael protested.

“Hey Michael. Hey. I know how you feel -- I'm a big brother too -- but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now, ok?” Dean told him. _Was that what this all about? Did Michael remind Dean of himself?_

“Dammit!” The mom said, dropping her purse in haste. She looked flushed and angry. You felt horrible for her.

“I got it” Sam said, bending down to pick up her purse.

“Thank you.” She said.

“Listen, you're in no condition to drive -- why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital.” Dean offered.

“No, I couldn't possibly...”

“No, it's no trouble. I insist.” Dean said, taking her keys. He often surprised you with gestures like this, how caring and considerate he could be.

“Thanks.” She said, turning to Michael. “Be good.” Dean helped her get into her seat, before turning to you and Sam.

“We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?”

~

“Hey Dean.” You said into the phone.

“Hey.” He whispered on the other end.

“How's the kid doing?”

“He's not good. Where you at?”

“I'm at the library with Sam. We’ve been trying to find out as much as we can about this Shtriga thing.”

 “Yeah, what have you got?”

 “Well, there’s some bad news. We started with Fort Douglas around the time you said your Dad was there?”

 “Yeah?”

“It was the same deal as here. And before that, there was, um... Ogdenville, and before that... North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every 15 to 20 years it hits a new town. In all these other places it goes on for months and dozens of kids before the shtriga finally moves on. The kids just ... they languish in comas and then they die. It’s awful.”

“How far back's this thing go?”

“We can’t tell, honestly. The earliest mention that we found was this place called "Black River Falls" back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show.”

“Whoa.” Sam said behind you.

“What’s up Sam?” You said, looking at him.

“What’s going on?” Dean asked from the other line.

“I’m putting you on speaker phone, okay Dean?” You said, so that he could hear what Sam had to say. Hopefully the librarian wouldn’t get mad.

“I'm looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed.” Sam told Dean, turning his laptop screen towards you. “One of the Doctors is Hydecker.”

“Holy crap.” You said, looking at the old picture. It was definitely him

“And..?” Dean asked.

“And this picture was taken in 1893.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Yeah absolutely.”

~

Dean hung up and turned to watch Dr. Hydecker sitting on Asher's bed.

“Don't worry. Your son's in good hands. I'm going to take care of him.” The doctor told his mother, before moving towards Dean. Honestly, it was taking all of his strength to not slit the doctors throat.

“So what's the CDC come up with so far”

“Well, we're still working on a few theories. You'll know something as soon as we do.”

“Well, nothing's more important to me than these kids. Just let me know if I can help.”

“I'll do that.”

~

“We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing.” Sam said as Dean entered the motel room.

 “That son of a bitch.” Dean said, throwing off his jacket. You had seen Dean angry plenty of times before, but you weren’t sure if you had ever seen him this mad.

“I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there.”

 “Yeah well, first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a freakin' pediatrics ward.”

 “Good call.” You said.

“Second, wouldn't have done any good, because the bastard's bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing cause I probably would have just burned a clip in him on principle alone.”

 “You're getting wise in your old age Dean.” Sam said, half jokingly.

 “Damn right. Cause now I know how we're going to get it.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Shtriga, works through siblings right?”

 “Right.” You said.

“Well last night.... It went after Asher. So I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael.”

“Well we gotta get him outta here.” Sam said.

“No. No, that would blow the whole deal.”

 “What?”

“Yeah.”

 “You wanna use the kid as bait? Are you nuts? No! Forget it. That's out of the question.”

“It's not out of the question Sam it's the only way. If this thing disappears it could be years before we get another chance.”

“Dean’s right Sam, we don’t really have any better options.”

“Michael's a kid. And I'm not going to dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook.”

“We’re not going to dangle him, we’ll be right there, protecting him.” You said.

“Dad did not send me here to walk away.” Dean told Sam.

“Send YOU here? He didn't send you here - he sent us here.”

“This isn't about you guys, Sam. I'm the one who screwed up, all right. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me.” Dean said, looking distraught.

“What are you saying, Dean? How is it your fault?” There was a long pause.

“Dean. You've been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? Now talk to us, man. Tell us what's going on.”

“Please Dean, we want to know.”

~

“Fort Douglas, WIsconsin. It was our third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls. Man, I needed to get some air.”

_He was sitting, watching TV. He turnned it off and went to the front door, looking back at Sammy, who was asleep in the other room. He was extra careful as he left, locking the door behind him. He headed to reception to play some arcade games until the owner told him they were closing for the night._

_He went back to the room. As he entered, he noticed a strange light coming from Sammy’s room. He moved closer and saw the shtriga leaning over Sammy. He reached for the rifle by the door but the shtriga heard him cock it and reared up, hissing._

_He hesitated, absolutely terrified. As he stood there, his dad burst through the front door, gun raised._

_“Get out of the way!” He shouted at Dean. Dean ducked and watched as his dad shot the shtriga multiple times with his hand gun. The shtriga jumped through the bedroom window, glass shattering. Dad rushed to Sam’s bed, pulling him close and cradling him._

_“Sammy. Sammy. Sammy. You ok?”_

_“Yeah Dad, what's going on?” Sam asked, confused and sleepy, but otherwise alright._

_“You all right?” He asked, holding Sammy close, while turning to glare at Dean. “What happened?”_

_“I -- I -- I just went out.”_

_“What!?” Dad asked, furious._

_“Just for a second. I'm sorry.”_

_“I told you not to leave this room. I told you not to let him out of your sight!” He watched sadly as his dad cradled Sammy._ All these years later, he could still hear his father’s words.

“Dad just ... grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas the shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. You know, Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he...ah...he looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen, I almost got you killed.” Dean said, looking at his brother.

“You were just a kid.” Sam said softly. Honestly, you didn’t trust yourself to speak, for fear of what would come out. Honestly, you were furious. You couldn’t believe that Dean felt responsible for all of this. Worse, you couldn’t believe his own _father_ would let him feel responsible for this.

“Don't. Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it.”

“But using Michael - I don't know Dean. I mean, how 'bout one of us hides under the covers, you know, we'll be the bait.”

“No, it won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed - it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid.”

~

“You're crazy! Just go away or I'm calling the cops.” Michael said, holding up the phone.

“Hang on a second. Just listen to me. You have to believe me, ok? This thing came through the window and it attacked your brother. I've seen it. I know what it looks like. Cause it attacked my brother once too.”

“This thing...is it...like....it has this long...black robe?” Michael said, slowly hanging up the phone.

“You saw it last night didn't you?”

“I thought I was having a nightmare.”

“I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real.”

 “So, why are you telling me?”

 “Because we need your help.”

 “My help?”

 “We can kill it. Me and him, that's what we do. But we can't do it without you.”

 “What? No!”

 “Michael, listen to me. This thing hurt Asher. And it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it, understand me?” Michael stared at Dean, horrified.

~

“Well that went crappy. Now what?” Dean asked.

“What did you expect? You can't ask a adult to do something like that, much less a kid.” Sam replied.There was a knock at the door. Dean opened it to see Michael.

 “If you kill it, will Asher get better?”

“Honestly? We don't know.” Dean said, You wished that the three of you could promise this kid something, anything, but there was nothing. No guarantees that this would even work.

“You said you were a big brother.” Dean nodded. “You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?”

“Yeah I would.”

“Me too. I'll help.”

~

In an odd sort of way, Michael sort of reminded you of your own brother. It was kind of making you a little bit emotional. You were sitting with Sam, watching the security feed coming from the other room via the security camera Dean was setting up.

“This camera has night vision on it so we'll be able to see clear as day.” Dean told Michael from the other room. “Are we good?”

“A hair to the right.” Sam said, as Dean adjusted the camera. “There, there.”

“What do I do?” Michael asked Dean.

“Just stay under the covers.”

 “And if it shows up?”

“We'll be right in the next room. We're gonna come in with guns. So, as soon as we do you roll off this bed and you crawl under it.”

“What if you shoot me?”

“We won't shoot you. We're good shots. We're not going to fire until you're clear ok?” Michael nodded tentatively. “Have you heard a gunshot before?”

“Like in the movies?”

“It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies. So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, do not come out until we say so. You understand?”Michael nodded slowly, looking scared.

“Michael, you sure you wanna do this?” Dean asked. Michael was silent. “You don't have to, it's ok, I won't be mad.”

“No I'm ok. Just don't shoot me.”

“We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”

~

“Dean I want to talk to you.” You said softly.

“Yeah?”

“What happened when you were kids? It wasn’t your fault, okay?”

“(Y/n)-”

“Look, I know feeling responsible for this, and practically everything else that goes wrong on all our hunts. And I know you probably won’t believe me, but it’s true. It’s not your fault.”

“If I hadn’t left-”

“The shtriga still would have come after Sam. So, you screwed up when you were a kid. That doesn’t mean that any of this is your fault; it’s that shtriga’s fault. And tonight, we’re going to end this. You’re a good guy Dean; you don’t deserve to beat yourself up over this.” You said, putting your hand on his shoulder and giving him a smile.

“So, are you guys ready to kill this thing?” Sam asked, entering the room.

“Hell yeah.”

~

“What time is it?” Dean asked.

“Three.” You said, looking at your watch. You were starting to get a little tired.

“You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?” Sam asked Dean.

 “Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah it's what Dad used last time.”

 “Hey Dean I'm sorry.” Sam said suddenly, catching you and Dean both by surprise.

 “For what?”

 “You know, I've really given you a lot of crap, for always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it.”

 “Oh, god, kill me now.” Dean said, getting a soft laugh out of Sam.

“You know, for two guys who claim they don’t do chick flick moments, you sure have a lot of them.”

“Wait, look.” Dean said, pointing to the screen. You saw that there was movement outside Michael’s room. The window slowly slide opened. The three of you prepped your guns as the shtriga moved closer to Michael.

“Now?”

“Not yet.” Dean replied. The shtriga moved closer and leaned over the bed, Michael was terrified but frozen, unable to move. The shtriga leaned closer and opened its mouth, starting to draw in Michael's energy. The three of you burst in the room.

“Hey!” Sam called out.

“Michael, down!” Dean yelled. Michael rolled off and under the bed. As soon as he was in the clear, you open fired, shooting the shtriga multiple times each. It fell to the ground.

“Mike, you all right?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” He replied from under the bed.

“Just sit tight.” Dean said, as he approached the shtriga, gun at the ready. There was no movement. He relaxed slightly and glanced over at you and Sam. The shtriga suddenly rose, grabbing Dean by the throat, throwing him against the wall.

“Dean!” You and Sam called at the same time.

The shtriga moved and threw Sam to the wall. He hit the ground, lying unconscious, and the shtriga turned to you, forcing your mouth open. You struggled against it, trying to reach your gun. But slowly, and ever so surely, you could feel the life leaving your body. Your violent protests grew stiller and stiller until you were frozen.

“Hey!” Dean called out, drawing the shtriga’s attention away from you. It looked up and Dean shot it between the eyes. He fell backwards, and you lay gasping for breath.

“You okay?” Dean asked you.

You nodded, even though that experience wasn’t exactly okay. You moved yourself over to Sam, checking him over.

“He’ll be fine. It takes more than that to take someone like Sam out.” You said your voice a little bit shaky. “Thanks for saving my ass.”

“Don’t mention it.” Dean said, as he raised his gun, shooting the shtriga three more times at point blank range. More energy escaped, and the shtriga fell in on itself, disintegrating.

“Is it dead?” Sam asked, looking up at you.

“Yeah, Dean killed it.”

“It's ok, Michael, you can come on out.” Dean said, looking over at the bed. Michael came to stand beside Dean, smiling tentatively. He placed his hand on Michael's shoulder and smiled.

~

“Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doing?” Dean asked. The three of you were busy packing up the impala, ready to move onto another case.

“Have you seen Michael?” She asked.

“Mom! Mom!” Michael called, running up to her.

“Hey!” She said, hugging him.

“How's Ash?”

“Got some good news. Your brother's gonna fine.”

“Really?” Michael said with a huge grin.

“Yeah. Really. No one can explain it -- it's a miracle. They're going to keep him in overnight for observation and then he's coming home.”

“That's great.” Dean said.

“How are all the other kids doing?” Sam asked.

“Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town.”

“What about Dr. Hydecker?” You asked.

“Oh he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something.”

“Yeah. Yeah must have.” Dean said. You hoped that he was rotting in the darkest corner of hell.

“So, did anything happen while I was gone?” Joanna asked Michael.

“Nah, same old stuff.”

“Ok. You can go see Ash.”

“Now?” He asked excitedly.

“Only if you want to.” Michael ran to their car.

“I, ah, I'd better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself.” She said, smiling and leaving the three of you to finish your packing.

“It's too bad.” Sam said

“Oh, they'll be fine.” Dean replied.

“That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark -- he'll never be the same, you know?” Sam sad, with a long pause. “Sometimes I wish that....”

“What...?”

“I wish I could have that kinda innocence.” Sam said, watching Joanna and Michael drive away.

“Who doesn’t?” You said with a sigh. As _great_ as being a hunter was, there were times when, well, you wished you could just be normal.

“If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could too.” Dean said, looking at his brother, then at you. “Both of you.”

“It does.” You said with a smile. Dean climbed into the car and start the engine. You and Sam followed, and you sat in the back of the impala as Dean pulled out of the motel car park and back onto the freeway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, all mistakes are mine! If you have suggestions, or even just like my story, feel free to comment below! I'd love to hear from you!


	7. Provenance

“Ugh,” You said, crushing the tiny spider underneath your napkin. “I hate spiders.”

“Come on, (y/n), we fight monsters for a living and you’re scared of a little spider?” Sam joked.

“I said I hate them, I’m not scared of them.”

“Did you know spiders can only eat liquids, so they have to liquefy their food before they eat it? They don’t bite their prey, they spit up digestive juices that break down the bugs slowly before they eat them.”

“Okay, I stand corrected. I am afraid of spiders.”

“Why? Spiders are helpful. Did you know a spider eats the equivalent of the entire human population of the UK in insects each year?”

“Okay, Sam. This is weird, even for you.”

“What? Spiders are cool.”

“Okay, I’ll admit they serve their purpose, but their purpose shouldn’t involve being anywhere near me.”

“Did you know-”

“Sam, stop. You’re going to buy me another drink to repay me for the emotional damage your spider facts have caused.”

“I will if your first drink ever makes its way over here.” Sam said, glancing over at Dean, who, as per usual, was flirting with a _very_ attractive young woman. Your drinks were sitting on the counter as he plugged her number into his phone. Making eye contact, Sam gestured to the papers in front of you. It always amazed (and sort of scared you) how the brothers could communicate so well with just gestures.

“All right, I think we got something.” Sam said, as Dean approached with the three beers.

“Oh yeah, me too,” Dean said, glancing back at the bar. “I think we need to take a little shore leave, just a little bit. What do you think, huh? I'm so in the door with this one.”

“So what are we today Dean? I mean, are we rock stars, are we army rangers?”

“Reality TV scouts, looking for people with special skills. I mean hey, it's not that far off right? By the way, she's got a friend over there. Possibly hook you up. What do you think?”

“Dean, no thanks, I can get my own dates.”

“Yeah you can but you don't.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” He said turning to you. “How about you, (Y/n)? She’s a blonde.”

“Thanks Dean, but you know I don’t mix business with pleasure. Speaking of which, we do have an actual reason for bringing you over here.”

“A possible case. Mark and Ann Telesca of New Paltz, New York were both found dead in their own home, a few days ago. Throats were slit. There were no prints, no murder weapons, all...” Sam looked at dean, who was clearly still distracted by the woman at the bar.

“Dean,” You said, smacking his arm lightly.

“No prints, no murder weapons, all doors and window locked from the inside.” Sam continued.

“Could just be a garden variety murder you know, not our department.” Dean said, taking a sip of his beer.

“No. Dad says different.” This caught Dean’s attention.

“What do you mean?”

“Dad noted three murders in the same area of upstate New York. First one here in 1912, second one right here in 1945, and the third in 1970, the same M.O. as the Telescas.”

“Their throats were slit, doors were locked from the inside. So much time had passed between murders that nobody checked the pattern, except for your Dad.” You said, looking over his notes. You had to admit, although the stories the boys told you made hate John Winchester, he was a seriously amazing hunter.

“And now we got one. All right, I'm with you guys. It's worth checking out. We can't pick this up til first thing though right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Dean said heading back over to the bar.

“Dean..” Sam said with a sigh.

“Ladies...did you miss me?” Dean said as he came back to the woman.

“Well yeah.”

“I'm just kidding. Listen, I talked to my producer, and it is looking good.”

“Great. Cool.” One of the girls said, making Sam snickered beside you.

“You know Dean has some serious problems, right?”

~

Dean slept slouched in the passenger seat of the Impala, with his sunglasses on. You laughed a little bit at how dorky he looked. Sam walked around the car, leaning in and honking the horn. Dean jumped a foot into the air. Sam sat in the driver’s seat, laughing, while you got in the back.

“Man, that is so not cool.” Dean said, wiping some drool off his chin.

“I just swept the Telescas with EMF. It's clean.”

“And last night when you were out-”

“Good times.” Dean said with a smirk.

“Spare us the detail, please. Anyways, I checked the history of the house. There was absolutely nothing strange about the Telescas.” You said.

“All right, so if it's not the people and it's not the house, then maybe it's the contents. Cursed object or something.”

“The house is clean,” Sam said.

“Yeah I know, you said that.”

“No, I mean it's empty. No furniture, nothing.”

“Where's all their stuff?”

~

“I told you we should have dressed up,” You said with a sigh. The three of you looked ridiculously out of place at the auction. Dean was helping himself to a handful of finger food from a tray.

“Consignment auctions, estate sales. Looks like a garage sale for Wasps if you ask me.” Dean said with a mouthful, while taking more food from a tray.

“Can I help you?” A man asked from behind you. He looked very formal, like someone that was actually suppose to be at this event.

“I'd like some champagne please.” Dean said, putting more food in his mouth. You suppressed a sigh.

“He's not a waiter.” Sam told him sharply. Dean cocked an eyebrow, as Sam held out his hand out to the man

“I'm Sam Connors.” The Man just looks at him, not moving. Sam move the hand he was holding out to point at You and Dean.

“That's my brother Dean, and our sister (Y/n). We're art dealers, with Connors Limited.

“You. Are...art dealers.” He said, in disbelief. You honestly won’t have believed the three of you either.

“That's right.”

“I'm Daniel Blake, this is my auction house. Now gentlemen this is a private showing, and I don't remember seeing you on the guest list.”

“We're there chuckles, you just need to take another look.” Dean said, swiping a glass of champagne from a waiter. “Oh. Finally.” Dean turned back to Blake, sniffed the glass, raised his eyebrows then turned and walked away. Sam followed hastily, shooting Dean a dirty look.

“I’m so sorry about my brothers. They’re idiots.” You said, walking quickly to catch up to them.

“We’re idiots?” Sam asked.

“I’m your sister? Although I have to admit, (Y/n) Winchester does have a nice ring to it.” You said, looking at a creepy portrait of a family. “What do you think of this?”

“A fine example of American Primitive wouldn't you say?”An extremely good looking young woman said, coming down the stairs. You stared at her, taking in her good looks, and you were sure the brothers were doing the same.

“Well I'd say it's more Grant Wood than Grandma Moses. But you knew that, you just wanted to see if I did.” Sam said. You turned your attention to him. Did that actually mean something?

“Guilty. And clumsy. I apologize. I'm Sarah Blake.”

“I'm Sam. This is my brother Dean, and (Y/n).” He said gesturing to you, and Dean who was still stuffing his face with passing trays.

“Dean. Can we get you some more mini-quiche?”

“I'm good, thanks.” Dean said with a mouthful of food.

“So, can I help you with something?” She said, checking out Sam.

“Yeah, actually. What can you tell us about the Telesca estate?”

“The whole thing's pretty grisly if you ask me, selling your things this soon. But Dad's right about one thing, sensationalism brings out the crowds. Even the rich ones.”

“Is it possible to see the provenances?”

“I'm afraid there isn't any chance of that.” Blake said, coming up from behind you.

“Why not?” Dean asked.

“You're not on the guest list. And I think it's time to leave.”

“Well we don't have to be told twice.” Dean said.

“Apparently you do.”

“Okay. It's all right. We'll go.” You said. Dean raised his eyebrows and walked off. You quickly followed behind him. Sam and Sarah exchanged a long look before he followed you.

~

“Grant Wood, Grandma Moses?” Dean asked.

“Art history course. It's good for meeting girls.” Sam explained.

“It's like I don't even know you.” Dean said, unlocking the door to your room.

You enter, and are immediately overwhelmed. The room was a totally over the top, retro 70s disco fantasy room. You look from one side of the room to the other (groaning internally a little when you see the state of the pull-out couch).

“Huh.” You all said together.

“What’s provedence?” You asked Sam as you dumped you bag on the couch.

“Prov-e-nance, (Y/n). It's a certificate of origin, like a biography. You know we can use them to check the history of the pieces, see if any of them have a freaky past.”

“Huh. Well, we're not getting anything out of chuckles, but Sarah...” Dean said, snapping his fingers at Sam and smirking.

“Yeah, maybe you can get her to write it all down on a cocktail napkin.” Sam joked.

“Not me.” Dean said, looking at Sam.

“Dean’s right Sam, she was interested in _you._ ”

“No no no, pick ups are Dean’s thing.”

“It wasn't my butt she was checking out.” They exchanged a look.

“In other words, the two of you want me to use her to get information.”

“Sometimes you gotta take one for the team, Sam.” You said with a shrug.

“(Y/n), you never have to flirt.”

“Well, Sam, that’s because all of the people we’ve had to seduce thus far are heterosexual woman. Otherwise, I’d be more than happy to help.”

“Now quit stalling, and call her.” Dean said, handing Sam his phone.

~

“You know Dean, we should do something since Sam’s going out on his fancy date.”

“Like what?”

“Well, we could go get dinner? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

~

It wasn’t the fancy, four star restaurant Sam and Sarah were at. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The run down little cafe was the closest place to the motel room you could find. At least the food smelt good. Dean was taking a long sip from his beer across from you.

“How do you think Sam’s making out?” He asked.

“Good, otherwise he would have called.”

There was a pause. Why was this so awkward? Probably because Sam was usually with the two of you. You never really got to go out for dinner by yourselves like this. Thankfully, the waitress came out, bringing your food. You took a big bite.

“Ohmygodthisissogood.” You said with a full mouth.

“Damnright.” Dean said, with a mouth just as full as yours. You laughed.

“Youlookridiculous.”

“Yeah,wellsodoyou.”

“NicecomebackDean.” You said. He looked so ridiculous, like a chipmunk, you couldn’t stop laughing. “Seriously, Dean, I’m going to choke and die if you don’t stop doing that.”

“Doingwhat?”

“That face you’re making!”

“Thisisjustmyregularface.”

“Your regular face stuffed full of food.” You said with another laugh, before getting a bit more serious. “Seriously Dean, why do you do that?”

“You eat what you can when you can.” He said with a distant look that made you wonder just what, exactly, he had been through in his life.

“You know it’s probably a good thing we haven’t found your dad yet.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know what I’ll do next time I see him. Because of everything you’ve told me about your childhood... Because you feel guilty all the time, even though you’re amazing, and I just.. I can’t help but hate him for that.”

“What’s done is done.” Dean said with a shrug.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“... If you could go back, and change things, would you?”

“Yes. God, yes. I’d go to school, have a family, and be normal. But, I think we both know that there’s no way out for people like us. No happily ever after for hunters. I don’t suppose you want to leave?”

“Of course I do. But it is what it is; there’s always going to be something else. Something to hunt, something to kill. It’s never going to end.”

“Yeah,” you said, looking down at your drink. “Hey listen, Dean. I.. um... I never actually thanked you. For picking me up Minnasota. And for putting up with me ever since.”

“Oh, come on (Y/n). Don’t get all sappy on me.”

“I’m serious Dean.” You said, looking back at him. “My life may be God awful, but at least I have you guys now.”

~

“So she just handed the providences over to you.” Dean asked as he sharpened his knife. You and Sam were looking through the provenances Sarah had given him.

“Provenances.”

“Provenances?”

“Yes. We went back to her place, I got a copy of the papers...”

“And...?”

“And nothing. That's it. I left.”

“She must have really liked you to give you all this.” You said, flipping through more pages.

“You didn't have to con her or do any...special favors or anything like that?”

“Dean, would you get your mind out of the gutter, please?”

“You know when this whole thing's done, we could stick around for a little bit.” Dean said with a laugh.

“Why?”

“So you could take her out again. It's obvious you're into her, even I could see that.”

“Hey, I think I've got something here.” Sam said, holding out the paper. You and Dean both reached for it at the same time, touching hands.

“Oh, Sorry Dean.” You said, letting go.

“No, (Y/n), you can have it.” He said handing it back to you.

“Okay,” You said, taking a look at the paper. “"Portrait of Isaiah Merchant's family, painted 1910." First purchased in 1912, Peter Simms. Peter Simms murdered 1912. Same thing in 1945. Oh, same thing in 1970.”

“That matches the names in the journal.” Dean said.

“Then stored, until it was donated to a charity auction last month. Where the Telescas bought it. So what do you think, it's haunted? or cursed?” Sam asked.

“Either way, it's toast.”

~

Dean leapt up and easily scaled the high metal gates surrounding the auction house, and sprinted into the mist until you could no longer see him.

“Come on!” He hissed.

You and Sam followed; breaking into places like this was nothing new for the three of you. Sam, wearing gloves, worked on disarming the security alarm.

“Go ahead.” Sam said as soon as the alarm was disarmed. Dean, also with gloves, picked the lock. You shined your flashlights around inside, quickly searching for the painting. You noticed it upstairs and led the boys up the spiral staircase. You held your flashlight up for light as Dean flicked his switchblade and cut the painting from its frame.

You were in and out in less than ten minutes. It was a heist any criminal, or hunter, would be proud of.

Pulling over at the side of the road a little ways away, you laid the painting in the dirt, Sam and You holding your flashlights up as Dean readies a match.

“Ugly ass thing. If you ask me we're doing the art world a favor.” He said, dropping the match. The painting burst into flames, and was quickly reduced to nothing more than ashes.

~

“We got a problem,” Dean said rushing in from the bathroom. “I can't find my wallet.”

“It’s okay, we’ll find it.” You said reassuringly.

“The thing it... I think I dropped it in the warehouse last night.”

“You're kidding, right?” Sam asked, horrified.

“No. It's got my prints, my ID, well my fake ID anyway. We gotta get it before someone else finds it. Come on.”

~

You and the boys were panicked, looking everywhere for Dean’s wallet.

“How do you lose your wallet, Dean?” Sam asked, frustrated. You were not only frustrated, but extremely worried. Dean threw his hands in the air and kept on looking.

“Hey guys!” Sarah said. You turned around to face her, trying to act calm.

“Sarah! Hey!” Sam said.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Ahh, we.... we are leaving town and, you know, we came to say goodbye.”

“What are you talking about Sam, we're sticking around for at least another day or two.” Dean said. You and Sam both gave Dean a confuse look.

“Oh, Sam. By the way. I'm gonna go ahead and give you that $20 I owe you.” Dean said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and looking meaningfully at Sam. “I always forget, you know.”

You were going to kill him. And judging by the look on Sam’s face, you’d have help.

“There you go.” Dean said, holding out the cash and smiling. Sam snatched the cash from Dean, giving him a bitch-faced glare

“Well, we'll leave you two crazy kids alone, we’ve gotta go do something...somewhere.”Dean said, grabbing your arm and dragging you along.

~

“I can’t believe you did that!” You said as soon as you were out of the building. You tugged your arm out of his grasp, and elbowed him.

“Hey, easy!”

“I thought we were going to get busted! I thought we were going to go to jail.”

“Oh come on, like I’d let that happen. Come on, (Y/n), doesn’t Sam deserve to have something good happen to him for a change?”

“Fine. But if this happens again, I’m going to lose you on the next heist.”

~

“What do you mean it was still there?” You asked Sam in disbelief.

“It was still there, perfect condition. I don't understand it; we burned the damn thing.”

“Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious,” Dean said. “All right, we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it. Any ideas?”

“Okay, all right. Well, um, in almost all the lore about haunted paintings it's always the painting's subject that haunts 'em.”

“Okay, so we need to figure out everything there is to know about that family and their creepy-ass painting.” You said. “What were their names again?”

~

“You said the Isaiah Merchant family right?” The proprietor asked.

“Yeah that's right.” Sam said. Dean approached the three of you, smiling and flicking through an old book. You looked over at the book, which was filled with pictures of guns.

“Nice,” You said with an approving nod.

“I dug up every scrap of local history I could find.” He said, laying a huge book of newspaper clipping on the table. “So are you kids crime buffs?

“Yep,” You said with a nod.

“Why do you ask?” Dean asked, turning his attention from the book to the man.

“Well...” He said, holding up a newspaper article. The lead story on the front page is "New Titanic Sinks, 1304 People Go To Watery Graves: Only 866 saved from 2,170 Aboard Liner Which Collides With Iceberg. Disaster Proves To Be the Greatest in Marine History of the World." You fail to see how this has any relation to the topic at hand, until the man points at a side article, which reads 'Father Slaughters Family, Kills Himself'.

“Yes. Yeah, that sounds about right.” Dean said.

“The whole family was killed?” Sam asked.

“It seems this Isaiah, he slits his kids' throats, then his wife, then himself. Now he was a barber by trade. Used a straight razor.”

“Why'd he do it?” You asked.

“Let's look. Ahh... "People who knew him describe Isaiah as having a stern and harsh temperament. Controlled his family with an iron fist. Wife, uh, two sons, adopted daughter....".” He said, skipping through the article. “Yeah yeah yeah..."There were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids and leave." Which of course you know in that day and age, um ....so instead, old man Isaiah...well he gave them all a shave.” He said, drawing his hand across his throat with appropriate noises, laughing. Dean joined in but stopped when he noticed the bitchfaces you and Sam were giving him.

“Does it say what happened to the bodies?” He asked, getting refocused.

“Just that they were all cremated.”

“Anything else?” You asked.

“Yeah. Actually I found a picture of the family. It's right here... somewhere. Right -- here it is.” He said, holding up a picture of the painting.

“Hey, could we get a copy of this please?” Sam asked.

“Sure.”

~

“I'm telling you man, I'm sure of it. The painting at the auction house, Dad is looking down. Painting here, Dad's looking out. The painting has changed.” Sam said.

“All right, so you think that Daddy dearest is trapped in the painting and is handing out Columbian neckties like he did with his family?” Dean asked.

“Well, it’s sort of looking that way. But if his bones are already burnt, how are we gonna stop him?” You asked.

“All right, well, if Isaiah's position changed then maybe some other things in the painting changed as well. You know it could give us some clues.” Dean explained.

“What, like a Da Vinci Code deal?” Sam asked.

“I don't....know. uhh...I'm still waiting for the movie on that one. Anyway, we gotta get back in and see that painting.” Dean said, moving over to his bed, throwing himself onto his back and crossing his arms. “Which is a good thing cause you can get some more time to crush on your girlfriend.”

“Dude. Enough already.”

“What?”

“What? Ever since we got here, you been trying to pimp me out to Sarah. Just back off, all right?”

“Well, you like her don't you?” Sam raised his arms and eyes to the ceiling.

“Come on Dean, if Sam doesn’t want to talk about it, don’t make him.”

“I just don’t understand it.” He said, looking at Sam. “You like her, she likes you, you're both consenting adults...”

“What's the point, Dean? We'll just leave. We always leave.” Sam said, frustrated and upset. You knew that there was going to be yet another blow out between the Winchester boys that you would awkwardly be stuck in the middle of.

“Well I'm not talking about marriage, Sam.”

“You know, I don't get it. What do you care if I hook up?”

“Cause then maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time.” Sam stared at him for a moment, then huffed out a breath and looked away.

“You know, seriously Sam, this isn't about just hooking up, okay?” Dean said, sitting up on the bed. “I mean, I, I think that this Sarah girl could be good for you.” Sam sighed and scratched his head.

“And... I don't mean any disrespect but I'm sure this is about Jessica, right? Now I don't know what it's like to lose somebody like that.... but... I would think that she would want you to be happy.” Sam was quiet and listening now, tears in his eyes. You reached out, and squeezed his hand.

“God forbid have fun once in a while. Wouldn't she?”

“Yeah I know she would.” Sam said, giving a half smile, then sighing heavily. “Yeah you're right. Part of this is about Jessica. But not the main part.”

“What's it about?” After a moment of Sam refusing to answer, you spoke up.

“Well we still gotta see that painting.”

“Which means you still gotta call Sarah, so...” Dean said softly. Sam picked up his phone, clearing his throat.

“Sarah, hey, it's Sam.” He said, awkwardly enough to make you want to cringe. “Hey, hi.... Good. Good, yeah. Umm. What about you?....Yeah good, good, really good.

“Smooth...” Dean whispered.

“So, ah, so listen. Me and my siblings, were...uh...thinking that maybe we'd like to come back in and look at the painting again. I ... I think maybe we are interested in buying it.... What!?” At Sam’s tone, your attention snapped back to him.

“Who'd you sell it to?” Sam asked, standing up. You and Dean followed, rising up to get ready to go. “Sarah I need an address right now.”

~

Sarah was waiting in the driveway when you got there.

“Sam what's happening?” She asked.

“I told you, you shouldn't have come.” Sam said, rushing past her. You followed his lead, knowing that is Evelyn wasn’t dead yet, she would be soon. The three of you ran up the stairs to the front porch, and Dean began banging on the door.

“Hello, anyone home?” He called.

“You said Evelyn might be in danger, what sort of danger?” Sarah asked.

“I can't knock this sucker down. I gotta pick it.”

“Then pick it already, we’ve gotta get in there.” You said, getting more and more nervous by the second. Dean started to pick the lock as You and Sam banged on the windows, which you noticed wer covered with metal security bars.

“What are you guys, burglars?” Sarah asked.

“I wish it was that simple. Look you really should wait in the car. It's for your own good.” Dean got the door open, and you quickly rushed inside.

“The hell I will. Evelyn's a friend.” Sarah said, running in the house after the three of you. “Evelyn?”

“Evelyn.” Dean called.

You entered the lounge, Evelyn sat half turned away from you.

“Evelyn? It's Sarah Blake....Are you all right?” Sarah asked, reaching forward to touch Evelyn's shoulder.

“Sarah don't. Sarah!” Sam called out urgently, but it was too late. Evelyn's head tipped back, exposing her slashed throat. Sarah screamed.

“Oh my God. Oh My God!!” Sam put his arm around her and led her out of the room. The sight was grizzly, and the scent of blood hung in the air.

“Oh my God...” You said, putting your face in your hands. If only you had gotten here sooner, this woman wouldn’t be dead.

“I know,” He said, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Believe me, I know.”

~

Dean sat beside you at the bar with the laptop, while Sam paced the room. There was a knock on the door, and he quickly answered it.

“Hey. You all right?” Sam asked as Sarah stormed into the room.

:No, actually, I just lied to the cops and told them I went to Evelyn's, alone, and found her like that.” You let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” Sam said.

“Don't thank me, I'm about to call them right back if you don't tell me what the hell's going on. Who's killing these people?” Sam looked over at you and Dean. You gave him a shrug, while Dean raised his eyebrows.

“What.” Sam told Sarah.

“What?”

“It's not 'who'. It's 'what' is killing those people.” Sarah looked at Sam like he was insane.

“Sarah,” Sam said with a sigh. “You saw that painting move.”

“No...no I was...I was seeing things. It's impossible.”

“Yeah well, welcome to our world.” Dean said.

“Sarah, I know this sounds crazy...but we think that that painting is haunted.”

“You're joking.” She said with a little laugh. She looked from Sam, to Dean, to You. You just looked at her. “You're not joking. God, the guys I go out with.”

“Sarah, think about it. Evelyn, the Telesca's, they both had the painting. And there have been others before that. Wherever this thing goes people die. And we're just trying to stop it. And that's the truth.” Sam explained.

“Then I guess you'd better show me. I'm coming with you.”

“What? No. Sarah no, you should just go home. This stuff can get dangerous and...and I don't want you to get hurt.”

“Look, you guys are probably crazy, but if you're right about this? Well me and my Dad sold that painting that mighta got these people killed. Look I'm not saying I'm not scared because I am scared as hell but...I'm not going to run and hide either.” Sarah said, striding over to the door. “So are we going or what?”

“Sam?” Dean said, after she had left the room. Sam looked over at Dean, who was pointing out the door after Sarah. “Marry that girl.”

~

“Ahhh... isn't this a crime scene?” Sarah asked as you picked the lock to Evelyn’s house.

“You've already lied to the cops. What's another infraction?” Dean asked.

“I’m getting better at this.” You said, as the door flew open. Picking locks was definitely not your strong suit, but at least you were getting quicker.

“Aren't you worried that it's...gonna kill us?” Sarah asked, as you entered the house.

“Nah, it seems to do its thing at night. I think we're all right in the daylight.” Sam said, pulling the painting off the wall.

“Check it out,” Dean said as he compared the two pictures. “The razor, it's closed in this one but it's open in that one.”

“What are you guys looking for?” Sarah asked.

“Well if the spirit's changing aspects of the painting then it's doing so for a reason.”

“Hey hey look at this. The painting in the painting.” Sam said, pointing at the building in the painting.

“Looks like a crypt, or something.” You said, trying to read the writing the small writing. Dean looked around, and grabbed a thick glass ashtray.

“Try this,” He said, handing it to you to use as a magnifying glass. Holding it up to the picture, you read out the word.

“Merchant.”

~

“This is the third boneyard we've checked. I think this ghost is jerking us around.” Dean complained as you walked through yet another graveyard.

“If you have any other leads, please feel free to tell us Dean. Until then, let’s keep looking.” You said.

“So this is what your family does for a living?” Sarah asked Sam.

“Not exactly. We don't get paid.”

“Well, Mazel tov.”

“Over there.” Dean said, spotting the mausoleum from the painting.

Dean broke the lock and the four of you entered, pushing aside the cobwebs. There was a number of name plates as well as four urns in front of little glass fronted boxes.

“Okay, that right there -- is the creepiest things I've ever seen.” Sarah said, looking at a preserved doll.

“It was a... sort of tradition at the time. Whenever a child died sometimes they'd preserve the kid's favorite toy in a glass case, put it next to the headstone or crypt.” Sam explained.

“Notice anything strange here?” Dean asked.

“Ah ... where do I start?” Sarah said, earning a laugh from Sam.

“No, that's not what I mean. Look at the urns.” Dean said.

“Yeah. There are only four.”

“Yeah Mom and the three kids. Daddy dearest isn't here.”

“So where is he?” you asked.

~

“So what exactly are they doing in there?”

“Searching county death certificates trying to find out what happened to Isaiah's body.”

“How'd they even get in the door?”

“Lying and subterfuge mostly.”

~

“And why exactly do you want to know what happened to Isaiah Merchant’s body?”

“Like we said, sir, we’re doing an article on him for the newspaper, and we really need to have all the details about his death, and his burial.” You explained.

“Which newspaper?” He asked.

“The Sun,” You replied, not even sure if that was a real newspaper. He looked back and forth, from Dean to you, before handing over some files.

~

“Well, that actually went pretty well.” You said, walking out to meet Sam and Sarah.

“Yeah, we’ve just got to find and burn that son of a bitch.” Dean said.

“Which is hopefully as easily done as it is said,” You said. “You know Dean, I do have to give you credit. Even though I’m still mad about the wallet thing, the two of them seem good for each other.”

“If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s Sam.” Dean said.

“He does,” You said, looking at Dean. “And so do we.”

~

“Are we interrupting something?” Dean asked as you made your way over to Sarah and Sam.

“No.”

“Not at all.” Sarah said, a little too quickly for you to believe her.

“Huh. Apparently.”

“So, what'd you get?” Sam asked.

“Apparently the surviving relatives of the Merchant family were so ashamed of Isaiah that they didn't want him interred with the rest of the family.” You explained.

“So, they handed him over to the county, the county gave him a pauper's funeral. Economy style. Turns out he wasn't cremated; he was buried in a pine box.” Dean finished.

“So there are bones to burn.”

“There are bones to burn.”

“Tell me you know where.”

~

The three of you dug up Isaiah’s grave, while Sarah shone a flashlight for you to see. Sam crawled out of the grave to stand next to Sarah.

“You guys seem to be uncomfortably comfortable with this.” She joked.

“Well, ah, this isn't exactly the first grave we've dug. Still think I'm a catch?” Sam joked, making Sarah laugh. Beside you, Dean tapped his shovel on something hard.

“Think I've got something.” He said, opening the coffin lid to reveal a body.

Dean poured the salt, Sam poured the kerosene, while you grabbed the matches. Sarah watched.

“You've been a real pain in the ass Isaiah. Good riddance.” Dean said, as you struck the match and into the coffin. The four of you stood together, watching it burn

~

The Impala pulled up at Evelyn’s house. Sam opens the passenger door.

“Keep the motor running.”

“I thought the painting was harmless now?” Sarah asked.

“Better safe than sorry. We're gonna bury the sucker.”

“I'm gonna with you.” Sarah said, getting out of the car.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey!” Dean said, calling Sam back over. “We’ll stay here, you go make your move. Sam. I'm serious!”

“How come letting Sam make his move always ends up with me getting stuck with you?” You joked, climbing over the front seat to sit in the passenger’s seat.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!?! Feet off the leather!!” Dean said, swatting your feet.

“Calm down Dean.” You said, sitting in the passengers seat.

“I’ll calm down when you stop abusing Baby!” You rolled your eyes, you looked over at Sam and Sarah, who had just entered the house. A few seconds later, the door slammed shut.

“Um, Dean? I don’t think that was them.”

~

You and Dean ran up the stairs and started shoving at the door.

“Dean! (Y/n)!Is that you?” You heard faintly.

“Sammy, you all right?” Dean said, pounding on the door frantically.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of there!” You said. Dean’s phone rang once, and he picked it up immediately.

“Tell me you slammed the front door.” Dean said. There was a moment of silence as Sam spoke. “Girl? What girl?.......Wasn't the Dad looking down at her? Maybe he was trying to warn us?.....Yes, we’re trying. I'm trying to pick the lock, the door won't budge....Okay genius, let me just grab my battering ram.... Well you're just gonna have to hold it off until we figure something out. Get some salt or iron.”

“We can’t break in through the windows, Dean.” You said, looking at the bars.

“There has to be a way in.” He said, banging on the door again, still holding the phone with his other hand.

“I’ll try round back.” You said, running over to the other side of the house. As expected, the security there was just as tight. You ran back over to where Dean was.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“Sammy, you okay?” Dean asked into the phone. “How we gonna waste her?....Then how's she still around?”

You watched Dean on the phone with Sam, hoping and praying that there was something, anything you could do.

“The Mausoleum!” Dean said, looking at you.

~

“Sarah said the doll might have the kid's real hair. Human remains, same as bones.” Dean explained as he raced down the road at about a hundred miles an hour.

“So we burn the doll, and kill the ghost.”

“Well, here’s hoping.”

Dean raced the Impala toward the graveyard, driving straight through the locked gates. He brought the impala to a screeching halt and both of you flew out of the car, running into the mausoleum. He pounded at the glass container, then smashes at it with the butt of his gun but it doesn't break. He started to head back to the car.

“What are you doing Dean? Shoot it!” You shouted. Dean shot the glass, lifting his other arm to protect his face. He used the gun to knock out the rest of the glass so that he could grab the doll. He held it as you pulled out your lighter. The darn thing wouldn’t light.

“Come on come on!” Dean said, as you tried to set the thing on fire.

“I’m trying!” You said, taking the lighter away from the doll, and then holding it up once again. The lighter catches and you held it under the doll's hair. It began to smoke and then to burn.

You watched as the doll burnt to a crisp. Dean pulled out his phone.

“Sam, you good?” Dean asked. He then looked at you. “He’s alright.”

“Thank God.”

~

You and Dean approached where Sam and Sarah were standing, as they watched the painting get crated up.

“This was archived in the county records,” Dean said, holding up the papers the two of you had found earlier. “The Merchant's adopted daughter Melanie. Know why she was up for adoption? 'Cause her real family was murdered in their beds.”

“She killed them?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” You replied with a nod. “And who'd suspect her? This sweet little girl. So then she kills Isaiah and his family, and he takes the blame. His spirit's been trying to warn people ever since.”

“So where's this one go?” One of the workers asked Sarah.

“Take it out back and burn it.” She replied. Everyone in the area gave her a confused look. “I'm serious guys. Thanks. So why'd the girl do it?”

“Killing others? Killing herself? Some people are just born tortured. So when they die, their spirits are just as dark.” Sam explained.

“Maybe. I don't really care. It's over, we move on.” Dean said with a shrug.

“Ahh... I guess this means you're leaving.” Sarah said, looking at Sam.

“We'll go wait in the car. See you Sarah.” You said, grabbing Dean’s arm. He stood awkwardly for a second, looking at Sam, before nodding and following you.

“I'm the one that burned the doll, destroyed the spirit, but don't thank me or anything.” Dean grumbled.

“Um, _I’m_ the one that burned the doll?”

“Well, _I_ got the doll out of the glass.”

“Only after _I_ told you to shoot it. If I wasn’t there, the doll would still be in that case.” You said, leaning against the Impala. Dean leaned beside you. “How about we both agree that we did awesome, yet are seriously underappreciated.”

“Isn’t that just every day of our lives?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” You said with a laugh. You looked over to see Sarah letting Sam out and closing the door.

“Oh come on Sammy.” Dean said, shaking his head and turning to get into the car.

“Cut the kid some slack Dean. None of this has been easy on him.” You said, opening the back seat of the Impala. You heard a knock, and looked over to see Sam kissing Sarah.

“That's my boy.” Dean said with a smile, as he got into the car. The two continued kissing in the doorway. “That’s my boy.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine! If you have any suggestions or requests, feel free to tell me!
> 
> Not going to lie, it can be extremely hard writing this story. Sometimes, I get writers block. Sometimes, I just don't seem to have the time. It's difficult, but I push through because of all you lovely readers who are here, reading my story and supporting me. Thank you so much for all that you do :)
> 
> I'm getting really excited about where this story is heading. I've got lots of plans for the end of Season 1, and the beginning of Season 2. So, stay tuned, and get excited.


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